box office blow for alexander director oliver stone s historical epic alexander has failed in its bid to conquer the box office  entering the us film charts at number six.  the swords and sandals blockbuster  rumoured to have cost more than $150m (£79m) to make  earned just $13.5 (£7m) over three days at the us box office. due to the thanksgiving holiday  the film opened on wednesday  bringing its total takings to $21.6m (£11.4m). top of the box office for a second week was action movie national treasure. the family adventure  starring nicolas cage  took $33.1m (£17.m)  ahead of animated comedy the incredibles - now in its fourth week in the charts - which took $24.1m (£12.7m).  last week oliver stone s film met with scathing reviews from us critics. the film stars irish actor colin farrell as one of history s most celebrated leaders - a relentless and arrogant warrior who conquered much of the known world by the age of 25. in particular  its portrayal of alexander as a bisexual has met with a hostile reception and the threat of legal action from greek lawyers.  though the battles have the blood-and-sinew bravado you expect from oliver stone  this three-hour buttnumbathon is hamstrung by a hectoring grandiosity   wrote one reviewer in rolling stone magazine. others poured scorn on farrell s bleached hair and angelina jolie s unwieldy accent  which variety called  a combination of mata hari and count dracula  . but novelist gore vidal defended the film  saying it was  barrier-breaking  for its frank depiction of bisexuality.  in sweden last thursday  to pick up a lifetime achievement award at the stockholm international film festival  stone expressed the hope that alexander might be better appreciated in europe.  one of the reasons i am being honoured here is europeans tend to see me a little differently than they do in the us   said the director behind jfk  platoon and born on the fourth of july. he added alexander  was not an easy movie  but then i ve never made easy movies .