"The Wolverine" will claw its way to No. 1 at the box office this weekend, but the climb is tougher than first anticipated. The 20th Century Fox "X-Men" spin-off slashed its way to a solid, but unspectacular, $21 million on Friday night, and will likely earn around $56 million for the weekend. The film, once again featuring Hugh Jackman as the titular mutant, will still top this week's box office, but Fox will likely be disappointed as the studio was anticipating a $65 million opening. "Wolverine" also had the added benefit of being the sole new wide opener this weekend. By contrast, 2009's maligned "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" opened to a significantly higher $85.1 million, and went on to gross more than $370 million worldwide. The new film will still be among the biggest openers this summer, which has seen more than its share of big budget stumbles, including "White House Down," "The Lone Ranger," "Pacific Rim" and last week's "R.I.P.D." Read more http://www.hitfix.com/news/box-office-the-wolverine-claws-its-way-to-no1-with-21-million-on-friday
