JamesG
07-11-2010, 06:02 PM
Despicable Me is an enviable No. 1 at box office
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY
July 11, 2010
Despite flat-lining business at the box office, animation continues to flex its muscle at theaters as Despicable Me cruised to an easy win at theaters this weekend.
The cartoon about supervillains, starring Steve Carell, raked in $60.1 million, according to studio estimates from box-office tracking firm Hollywood.com.
The haul was $20 million more than expected and marked an unusually strong opening for a film that isn't a franchise. That will probably change after this debut, though Universal Pictures has made no announcement.
Still, the movie performed well at test screenings, and critics were solidly behind it. About 80% of critics recommended the picture, according to movie review site RottenTomatoes.com.
"We knew we had something good; people in the office were talking about it," says Universal's distribution chief, Nikki Rocco. "But you never know how you're going to do when you're new, especially going up against huge franchises like Twilight and Toy Story."
Twilight Saga: Eclipse dropped a healthy 49%; it brought in $33.4 million in its second week. The vampire love story has earned $237 million so far.
Predators, a reboot of the alien franchise starring Adrien Brody, surprised movie critics and box-office analysts alike with its strong showing. The movie was third with $25.3 million while earning a thumbs-up from a surprising 65% of reviewers.
"The (1987) original was a classic, and we wanted to treat it like a serious film," says Bert Livingston of 20th Century Fox, which released the movie.
Though men made up nearly 70% of the audience, the age range was across the board, Livingston says. "You had adults who loved the cult movie and younger guys who loved the action."
Toy Story 3 was fourth with $22 million, lifting its total to $340.2 million and making it the highest-grossing film of the year.
M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender rounded out the top 5 with $17.2 million, bringing its two-week total to $100.2 million. The movie is Shyamalan's first to break $100 million since 2004's The Village.
The strong weekend helped boost sales 4% over the same weekend last year, though attendance remains about 3% behind last year's pace.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-07-12-boxoffice12_ST_N.htm
USA Weekend Box-Office Summary
week of 9 July 2010
1. Despicable Me $60,117,000
2. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse $33,400,000 / $237,000,000
3. Predators $25,300,000
4. Toy Story 3 $22,000,000 / $340,200,000
5. The Last Airbender $17,150,000 / $100,227,000
6. Grown Ups $16,400,000 / $111,315,000
7. Knight & Day $7,850,000 / $61,939,000
8. The Karate Kid $5,700,000 / $164,600,000
9. The A-Team $1,800,000 / $73,971,000
10. Cyrus $1,375,000 / $3,521,000
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY
July 11, 2010
Despite flat-lining business at the box office, animation continues to flex its muscle at theaters as Despicable Me cruised to an easy win at theaters this weekend.
The cartoon about supervillains, starring Steve Carell, raked in $60.1 million, according to studio estimates from box-office tracking firm Hollywood.com.
The haul was $20 million more than expected and marked an unusually strong opening for a film that isn't a franchise. That will probably change after this debut, though Universal Pictures has made no announcement.
Still, the movie performed well at test screenings, and critics were solidly behind it. About 80% of critics recommended the picture, according to movie review site RottenTomatoes.com.
"We knew we had something good; people in the office were talking about it," says Universal's distribution chief, Nikki Rocco. "But you never know how you're going to do when you're new, especially going up against huge franchises like Twilight and Toy Story."
Twilight Saga: Eclipse dropped a healthy 49%; it brought in $33.4 million in its second week. The vampire love story has earned $237 million so far.
Predators, a reboot of the alien franchise starring Adrien Brody, surprised movie critics and box-office analysts alike with its strong showing. The movie was third with $25.3 million while earning a thumbs-up from a surprising 65% of reviewers.
"The (1987) original was a classic, and we wanted to treat it like a serious film," says Bert Livingston of 20th Century Fox, which released the movie.
Though men made up nearly 70% of the audience, the age range was across the board, Livingston says. "You had adults who loved the cult movie and younger guys who loved the action."
Toy Story 3 was fourth with $22 million, lifting its total to $340.2 million and making it the highest-grossing film of the year.
M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender rounded out the top 5 with $17.2 million, bringing its two-week total to $100.2 million. The movie is Shyamalan's first to break $100 million since 2004's The Village.
The strong weekend helped boost sales 4% over the same weekend last year, though attendance remains about 3% behind last year's pace.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2010-07-12-boxoffice12_ST_N.htm
USA Weekend Box-Office Summary
week of 9 July 2010
1. Despicable Me $60,117,000
2. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse $33,400,000 / $237,000,000
3. Predators $25,300,000
4. Toy Story 3 $22,000,000 / $340,200,000
5. The Last Airbender $17,150,000 / $100,227,000
6. Grown Ups $16,400,000 / $111,315,000
7. Knight & Day $7,850,000 / $61,939,000
8. The Karate Kid $5,700,000 / $164,600,000
9. The A-Team $1,800,000 / $73,971,000
10. Cyrus $1,375,000 / $3,521,000