Top 10 for June 9-11, 2006 Summary: Final numbers are in.
Racing to the top spot this weekend was Disney/Pixar's latest computer-animated hit Cars, which opened strongly but fell short of its two immediate predecessors with a $60.1 million opening (revised down from $62.8m). The debut marked the seventh consecutive Pixar film to top the charts in its opening weekend, as the John Lasseter-helmed released averaged a strong $15,086 in 3,985 theaters.
Compared to the company's last two films, Cars opened a good deal lower, though not under the expected range projected by industry analysts. 2004's The Incredibles debuted in November with $70.5 million in 3,933 theaters for a $17,917 average, while 2003's Finding Nemo bowed in May with $70.3 million from 3,374 theaters, averaging $20,821. The opening was on par with 2001's Monsters, Inc., which bowed to $62.6 million.
Among all-time openings for computer-animated films, Cars came in at No. 5, behind Shrek 2 ($108m), The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and this Spring's Ice Age: The Meltdown, which debuted with a record $68 million. Among June openings, Cars posted the second biggest weekend ever, behind only 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban with $93.7 million.
Though far from being a disappointment, the opening was less than Disney had hoped for given the relatively weak competitors on display this weekend, as well as a monster marketing campaign and overall positive reviews (and lets not forget the $7.4 billion they ponied up to actually acquire the studio). Perhaps the biggest hurdle this weekend was getting audiences excited about an entire movie devoted to cars. One could argue that audiences lined up equally as much because of the Pixar branding as the film itself. However, a 19.6% jump in ticket sales from Friday to Saturday should be an encouraging statistic for studio execs that have banked on Cars becoming yet another blockbuster in Pixar's illustrious history.
The Incredibles finished its domestic run with $261.4 million, while Finding Nemo finished with $339.7 million, still the highest grossing film in Pixar history. With word of mouth expected to be strong, Cars should have no trouble surpassing $200 million domestically.
After its surprising debut in the top spot last weekend, the Jennifer Aniston-Vince Vaughn romantic comedy The Break-Up slipped 48% to $20.3 million, bringing its ten day take to a very impressive $74.1 million.
At its current pace, the $52 million budgeted Universal release should finish with upwards of $125 million domestically.
Falling another hefty 53% was Fox's mega-budgeted X-Men: The Last Stand, which finished the weekend in the No. 3 spot with $16.1 million, bringing its three week cume to $202.2 million. Carrying a budget of $210 million, the superheroes pic is now the highest grossing film of 2006, surpassing Ice Age: The Meltdown's $191.7 million. At its current pace the Brett Ratner directed film should cruise past the $214.9 million domestic total of its immediate predecessor X-Men 2.
Despite overall poor reviews Fox's R-rated horror remake The Omen set a Tuesday record with $12.6 million (using clever marketing to debut on 6/6/06). With most of the film's most eager fans out of the way, the weekend came with much less fanfare, as the $25 million budgeted pic took in an estimated $15.4 million from Friday to Sunday, pushing its six-day cume to $35.7 million. Starring Julia Stiles and Liev Schreiber, the film played strongest among the Under 25 demographic, most of whom have never heard of, let alone saw the acclaimed 1976 original. As with most horror genre pics, expects steep declines in the coming weeks.
Opening in seventh place was Robert Altman's well-reviewed nostalgic drama A Prairie Home Companion, which debuted in 760 theaters with an estimated $4.6 million. Released by Picturehouse, the film will likely see a gradual increase in theaters this summer.
Thanks to Pixar's Cars debut, the top ten films grossed an estimated $146.4 million, up 9% from last year's comparable frame when Brangelina's Mr. & Mrs. Smith debuted at number one with $50.3 million.
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