Gerard Butler portrays Leonidas, the king of Sparta who, along with 300 soldiers, battles to prevent the Persian army from invading all of Greece in the movie '300'. - Contributed

reuters

Heads rolled at the weekend box office in North America as the blood-soaked ancient epic '300' slaughtered its foes in spectacular fashion.

The grim warrior tale sold an estimated $70 million worth of tickets during its first three days of release, setting a new record for a March release, the film's distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday.

Heading into the weekend, the most bullish oracles had forecast an opening in the $50 million range. The special-effects extravaganza, with a largely unknown cast, cost in the mid-$60 million range to produce, the Time Warner Inc-owned studio said.

Scottish actor Gerard Butler stars as Leonidas, the hunky king of the Spartans, who leads 300 of his warriors to glorious death at the Battle of Thermo-pylae against a massive Persian army commanded by the fey king Xerxes (Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro). Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) directed the adaptation of comic book writer Frank Miller's graphic novel.

Positive reviews

300 earned largely positive reviews, despite or because of its myriad decapitations and balletic battlefield carnage. The last few chart-toppers, incumbent champ Wild Hogs, Ghost Rider and Norbit, were slammed by the critics.