Top 10 for June 15-17, 2007 Summary: Sunday estimates are in.
After laying dormant for the first part of the summer season Fox finally rolled out a big-budget sequel of their own with the comic adaptation Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which opened with an estimated $57.4 million, earning more than the next four competitors combined. Averaging a strong $14,499 in 3915 theaters, the $130 million budgeted superhero pic edged out the $56.1 million bow of its predecessor Fantastic Four act in July 2005. That film went on to gross $154.7 million domestically despite a clear lack of good word of mouth. Once again receiving lackluster reviews from critics, the Tim Story directed sequel (he also directed the first film) was able to generate excitement from fans by adding the Silver surfer character, an icon of the Marvel comics pantheon.
Starring Jessica Alba and Chris Evans, with Laurence Fishburne providing the voice talent for the computer-generated Silver Surfer, Fantastic Four took in the strong $22 million on Friday, dropping 11% on Saturday to $19.6 million. Fox estimates a Sunday take a 15.8 million. Lacking a global launch similar to blockbuster sequels Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean, Silver Surfer opened in 32 markets overseas earning an estimated $25.4 million. With a massive slate of family-friendly offerings coming in the next month, including next week's Evan Almighty, Pixar's Ratatouille the following week, Transformers on July 4th and Harry Potter 5 two weeks after that, look for significant drops in the coming weeks.
After just one week at the top, Warner Brothers' Ocean's Thirteen slipped 47% and one spot to an estimated $19.1 million in its sophomore frame. In 10 days sequel has brought in $69.8 million. The drop was much lower than its immediate predecessor Ocean's Twelve, which slipped 54% in its second weekend. With the second half of a meaty summer season just underway look for Thirteen to finish with $115-120 million domestically, which would still make this third installment the lowest grossing film of the franchise.
Universal's sleeper comedy hit Knocked Up slipped a top 10 best 26% in third place with an estimated $14.5 million. In just three weeks the R-rated release has grossed $90.5 million. At its current pace the Judd Apatow comedy should have no trouble surpassing 2005's sleeper hit The 40 Year-Old-Virgin, took in $109.4 million domestically.
Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End slipped 43% to an estimated $12 million, pushing its four-week cume to $273.7 million. Budgeted at $300 million, the sequel will have a hard time breaking even domestically. Internationally the film has amassed $547 million, bringing its worldwide total to $820.7 million.
Sony's computer animated Surf's Up failed to grab attention in its second week of release, falling 47% to an estimated $9.3 million. In 10 days the surfing mocumentary has generated a disappointing $34.6 million, making it on pace to become the lowest grossing film ever released by the Sony Animation division.
Opening a disappointing seventh was Warner Bros.' children's film Nancy Drew, which took in an estimated $7.1 million this weekend. Averaging just $2,731 in 2612 theaters the poorly reviewed children's book adaptation should see a quick exit from theaters.
Next week should see a new No. 1 opening as the Steve Carrell comedy Evan Almighty floats into theaters.
As for the box office, the top ten films grossed an estimated $136.8 million, down 2% from last year's comparable frame when Cars held onto the top spot with $33.7 million.
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