BOX OFFICE TURNS INTO “TOY” BOX
Toy Story 3 continued to draw hordes of families to theaters over the weekend, as it generated an estimated $59 million in ticket sales, bringing its total after just ten days to a superb $226.6 million. A family of four that paid 3D surcharges and convenience fees for ordering online would have had to shell out $80 or more for tickets in some locations even before hitting the concession counters (let alone the toy stores). But clearly most were not put off by the steep prices, which had been blamed for the “soft” opening of DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek Forever After last month. Toy Story also dominated overseas. Although it still has not opened in Europe — as part of a strategy to stay out of the way of the World Cup — the movie nevertheless collected a sterling $36.1 million over the weekend to bring its two-week foreign total to $100 million. Coming in second domestically with $41 million was the critically lambasted Grown Ups, starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider. Analysts indicated that the result was just about average for an Adam Sandler comedy. But, in what was widely regarded by Hollywood pundits as a marketing debacle, the Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz comedy thriller Knight and Day brought in just $20.5 million, despite decent reviews and positive exit polls. The film, which opened on Wednesday, has earned $27.8 million after five days, making it the least-attended opening for a Tom Cruise movie since 1992’s Far and Away. With kids flocking to the latest Toy Story installment, The Karate Kid lost most of its primary audience and fell 48 percent in its third week to about $15.4 million, to finish fourth. The A-Team took an even harder hit, dropping 58 percent to around $6 million — but that was like nothing compared to the 70-percent plunge of Jonah Hex to $1.6 million. It averaged only $177 per theater, suggesting that it played to empty seats in many of them. The movie has earned just $9.1 million after 10 days.
The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:
1. Toy Story 3, $59 million; 2. Grown Ups, $41 million; 3. Knight and Day, $20.5 million; 4. The Karate Kid, $15.4 million; 5. The A-Team, $6 million; 6. Get Him to the Greek, $3 million; 7. Shrek Forever After, $2.9 million; 8. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, $2.8 million; 9. Killers, $2 million; 10. Jonah Hex, $1.6 million.
UPDATE:
Final figures released late Monday showed the box office performing pretty much as studios had estimated. Disney/DreamWorks Animation’s Toy Story 3 came in at $59.34 million. Grown Ups placed second with $40.51 million. Knight and Day had a three-day total of $20.14 million and a five-day total of $27.43 million. Rounding out the top five were The Karate Kid with $15.55 millon and The A-Team with $6.20 million.
