"The Hangover Part III" didn't prove as powerful a rival as the movie's backers at Time Warner Inc.

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As for the money, well The Hangover Part III is slated for 2013.

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"The Hangover Part III" also performed well overseas, opening better than the second in the series in countries including Germany, Russia and Brazil.

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Kudos to Mr. Phillips for defending his maligned would-be masterpiece rather than patronizingly assuring fans that The Hangover part III will be so much better this time around.

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Coming off relatively successful prior installments, both The Hangover part III and Fast and Furious 6 could arguably be expected to secure two of the bigger opening weekends of the summer 2013 season.

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Saturday matinees were surprisingly strong, said Mr. Moore, giving the studio hope it can draw families with older children next weekend when two new male-skewing films, "Fast and Furious 6" and "The Hangover Part III" open.

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While there are many more big movies coming soon, including "Star Trek: Into Darkness" next week and both "Fast and Furious Six" and "The Hangover Part III" the week after, those movies will primarily target men.

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But it will face several formidable competitors in the next few weeks, including "The Great Gatsby, " starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and sequels "Star Trek: Into Darkness, " "Fast and Furious Six" and "The Hangover Part III, " all of which are generating healthy amounts of prerelease interest.

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