Weekend Box Office: Buzz and Woody hold off Tom, Adam and Cameron

The toys of Pixar's latest smash hit "Toy Story 3" easily held court for a second weekend at the North American box office, according to estimates released today. While Buzz and Woody stayed at number one, Adam Sandler made a solid second place debut with his new slapstick comedy "Grown Ups", while Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz settled with a mediocre third place finish for their new action comedy "Knight and Day". Overall, this weekend's box office was off 19% from last year when "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" led the pack.


Dropping a moderate 46.5% from last weekend's huge $110 million opening, Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 3" hauled a very sizeable $59 million from 4,028 screens for a new ten-day total of approximately $226.5 million. The film posted great numbers during the week, roughly $56 million from the 4-day Monday through Thursday period. The strong word-of-mouth has been as beneficial as the higher 3-D and IMAX ticket prices have been in contributing to the film's massive grosses. Audience support should help the Pixar smash in the long run as a percentage of the IMAX and 3-D screens currently occupied by the film are soon to be taken over to the likes of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" and "The Last Airbender" this upcoming week.

Following the disaster that was last summer's "Funny People", Adam Sandler finds himself back in familiar territory with "Grown Ups", which kidded around for an excellent $41 million estimated debut from 3,534 screens. The $75 million comedy, which costars Sandler's buddies Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider and David Spade, may have been derided by critics (a 7% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes? Ouch!) but ticket buyers know better than to listen to them when it comes to a screwball Adam Sandler comedy. The opening is in line with Sandler's other recent crowd-pleasers like "Click" ($40.6 million), "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" ($38.5 million) and his remake of "the Longest Yard" ($47.6 million). All went on to gross $100 million or more at the box office, and this one should be no exception.

While it was expected that "Toy Story 3" would have another huge weekend and that "Grown Ups" would bring out the Sandler faithful, no one really knew what "Knight and Day" would ultimately do this weekend. The ad campaign was all over the map, which tried to sell the comedy without emphasizing the action, the action without emphasizing the comedy and even as a romance flick. The production has had a less-than-stellar production history, and tracking on the film was down there right alongside "Jonah Hex". Add to that the fact that neither Tom Cruise or Cameron Diaz are the box office draws they once were, and you have a recipe for box office failure, something that Twentieth Century Fox really doesn't need following the disappointing results for "The A-Team" and "Marmaduke".

So, what was the end result after all the reshoots, various ad campaigns and moving the release date up two days to get a jumpstart on the weekend? A mediocre $20.5 million debut weekend estimate and $27.7 million for the film's first five days, neither number was what Fox was hoping for. While it's not an outright dud financially, the five-day debut for the reported $140 million production is definitely a step down for the once white-hot Cruise, especially in light of the openings for his other action films, namely the "Mission: Impossible" franchise. Reviews were mixed at best, so Fox will have to rely on the old standbys of audience word-of-mouth and (more importantly) foreign box office in the hopes of turning this film into a hit.

In fourth place was Sony's high-kicking family hit "The Karate Kid", which added an estimated $15.4 to its coffers for a new total of roughly $135.6 million to date. Despite "Toy Story 3"s domination at the box office over the past ten days, families have continued to support the 2010 remake of the 1984 drama. The film is looking to finish in the $185-190 million range domestically.

Fox's other big-budget action comedy in the top ten, "The A-Team", dropped by 59% from last weekend to add an estimated $6 million, which was good enough for fifth place and a new to-date gross of $62.8 million to date. In sixth place was Universal's "Get Him to the Greek" off 50% to add $3 million to its gross, which now stands near the $55 million mark. The mid-range hit should finish slightly ahead of the $60 million generated by the previous effort from "Greek" director Nicholas Stoller, 2008's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall".

Seventh place went to Dreamworks' "Shrek Forever After", which landed $2.8 million in ticket sales this weekend to bring its domestic total to the $229.3 million mark. Shrek and Donkey have pulled in an impressive $85 million in limited release from overseas market, most of which is waiting to release the film until after the World Cup concludes. Displaying some surprising staying power in eighth place is Disney's Memorial Day release "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time", adding $2.9 million to its domestic total, which now stands at $86.1 million. The $213 million tallied from overseas has been a saving grace for the fantasy epic, which opened below expectations at the end of May but has managed to hold its ground.

Rounding out the top ten was Lionsgate's "Killers" in ninth place with an estimated $2 million from 2,271 screens. Off 60%, the film's new total stands at $44 million. Warner's colossal misfire "Jonah Hex" landed in tenth with $1.6 million for a pathetic ten-day total of $9.1 million. Dropping a scary 70% from last weekend, the DC Comics inspired action flick kept its 2,825 screens for a second weekend, but it didn't help matters any. The film should limp across the finish line with a dire $12 million box office gross.

With the arrival of "Eclipse" on Wednesday on over 4,000 screens and "The Last Airbender" on Friday in over 3,000 screens and the sure-to-be continued popularity of "Toy Story 3", "Grown Ups" and "The Karate Kid", the July 4th weekend could shape up to be one of the best the film industry has seen in quite some time.

Weekend Box Office: "Toy Story 3" Goes to Box Office Infinity and Beyond; "Jonah Hex" Cursed

When they say the toys are back in town, you better believe it. Disney /Pixar's "Toy Story 3" hit the jackpot this weekend at the North American box office, while Warner Brother's "Jonah Hex" was a outright bomb. Thanks to the latest Pixar hit, the box office continued to show life following the big debut last week of Sony's "The Karate Kid", which withstood the return of Buzz and Woody to post a solid second weekend gross. Overall, business was up a healthy 31% from both last weekend and last year at this time.


"Toy Story 3" landed on 4,028 screens for an eye-popping $109 million in estimated ticket sales. Of that screen count, 2,463 screens were Digital 3-D screens while 180 were IMAX . The weekend breakdown was as follows for the second sequel to the 1995 classic: Friday brought $41 million, followed by an understandable 10% drop on Saturday to $37 million. Disney is estimating that Sunday's take will be $31 million. The higher prices for the 3-D and IMAX showings were no doubt of great benefit, to be sure. But even without those formats, the film would have had a big debut. Like most Pixar flicks, the film was very warmly received by critics, whose praise resulted in a 99% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Add to the raves the fact that the kids are now out of school and those who loved the first two have not outgrown the characters or series, and you have all the markings for another Pixar smash.

While the opening did not break the record set by "Shrek the Third" ($121 million in its opening weekend) three years ago, "Story 3"s debut did set a record for a Pixar debut, beating 2004's "The Incredibles" ($70.4 million) by a wide margin. As most Pixar films go on to gross four (sometimes five) times their opening weekend take during their theatrical run, a $400 million domestic total is not completely out of the question.

Making a quality hit movie out of a lesser-known comic book/graphic novel series isn't an impossibility. One only look at "The Crow", "Blade", "Road to Perdition" or "Men in Black" to see that. Warner's supernatural western misfire "Jonah Hex" will not be included in that group. The 1970s DC-Comics character finally made it to the big screen, but judging from its horrible eighth place $5.08 million gross from 2,825 screens, one has to wonder why they bothered to begin with.

"Hex" has had a turbulent production history right from the start, going through several screenwriters, a few directors and extensive reshoots en route to its opening, which was met with a tidal wave of negative reviews, an ineffective ad campaign from a studio that had already written it off and audience apathy. While Unviersal's "MacGruber" may have had a lower debut (but not by much), that film didn't cost anywhere from $35-65 million to produce (Warner claims $35 million while others state reshoots added $25-30 million to the bill). Following the disappointing domestic returns for "Sex and the City 2" and the non-start of the well-reviewed "Splice, Warner has to be praying that its next release saves their summer: July 18th's "Inception".

Dropping less than half (47.9%) from its big $55 million opening last weekend, Sony's reboot of "The Karate Kid" landed in second place this weekend to gross $29 million to bring its estimated ten-day total to an excellent $106.2 million. With the kids out of school, Jackie and Jaden's China adventure is looking to have a healthy run in the weeks ahead and could finish in $180-190 million range when all is said and done. Not surprisingly, a sequel is already in the works.

Last weekend's other opener, "The A-Team", dropped by an okay 46% to an estimated $13.7 million in its second weekend to land in third place. However, the $49.8 million in ticket sales after ten days has to come as a disappointment for 20th Century Fox, who no doubt was hoping that the heavily-promoted action flick would become a new franchise for the studio. Watch for the guys to finish their run between $70-75 million.

Fourth place went to Universal's raunchy rock comedy "Get Him to the Greek" with $6.1 million in sales for its third weekend. Off 38.5% from last weekend's take, the gross for the Judd Apatow-produced film now stands at approximately $47.8 million. "Greek" should close close to the $60 million range. Suffering the most from the arrival of Buzz and Woody was Dreamworks' "Shrek Forever After", which dropped a steep 65% while losing a majority of its 3-D and IMAX screens. Landing in fifth place, "Shrek"s $5.5 million weekend haul from 3,207 screens brought its total to $223 million mark. The final installment of the Green Ogre series should finish between $230-235 million.

Holding well in sixth place was Disney's "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" which only dropped 18% this weekend to nab $5.28 million for a new domestic total of $80.5 million. Seventh place went to the Katherine Hiegl/Aston Kutcher flick "Killers" which nabbed $5.1 million for the weekend and a new total of $39.4 million. The Lionsgate spy comedy to finish with approximately $45-47 million in domestic sales and the Jerry Bruckheimer adventure epic to close between $90-95 million.

In ninth place behind "Jonah Hex" was Paramount/Marvel's "Iron Man 2" with $2.67 million and a new total of $304.7 million. Rounding out the top ten was Fox's family comedy "Marmaduke" barked up $2.67 million this weekend to bring its three week total to the $28 million range. Watch for the big dog to close with roughly $35 million. Just outside the top ten was Warner/New Line's "Sex and the City 2", dropping 55% to add $2.5 million to its domestic total, which now sits at $90.1 million. Carrie and the gals should wind up calling it a day somewhere around the $95 million mark.

Next Wednesday, Fox releases its Tom Cruise/Cameron Diaz action comedy "Knight and Day", while Sony unleashes Adam Sandler's "Grown Ups" next Friday.

Friday Box Office Estimates: As expected, "Toy Story 3" Huge while "Jonah Hex" DOA

Following last weekend's wake-up call from Sony's "The Karate Kid", the North American box office showed a lot of life on Friday thanks to the arrival of Pixar/Disney's "Toy Story 3", which collected an estimated $40 million on its opening day. The second sequel to the 1995 hit that gave birth to the computer-animated genre benefitted from a number of factors: name recognition, premium-priced 3D and IMAX ticket, a huge screen count that went over 4,000 screens and an overwhelming amout of positive reviews from critcs. Strong word-of-mouth from moviegoers should take over from here. Saturday and Sunday matinees should be huge thanks to families, while the evening showings should also do terrific since Pixar movies manage to please every demographic. Look for Buzz and Woody to finish with a terrific $125-130 million for its first three days, with much more to come.

Landing with a thud that echoed across the film world was Warner's troubled Western "Jonah Hex" with a dire $2 million from 2,825 screens. The film marks the third underperformer from the studio in the past two months following "Sex and the City 2" (released via their New Line division) and "Splice". The reported $65 million adaptation of the little-known DC comic went through a pair of directors and an extensive period of reshoots en route to its non-opening. It wouldn't surprise me if Warner Brothers has candles lit around a poster for "Inception" in the hopes it saves the studio's summer. Watch for the 'hex'ed "Jonah" to finish under $6 million for the weekend.

Last week's champ, "The Karate Kid" hauled in an estimated $8.6 million on its second Friday and is looking at a possible $27 million weekend haul. Fox's "The A-Team" took in an estimated $4 million yesterday and is looking at roughly $12-14 million for its second weekend in the market, while Dreamworks' "Shrek Forever After" took roughly $2.5 million in its fifth weekend for a possible $9 million weekend.

Check back tomorrow for weekend estimates.

Weekend Box Office: "Kid" Blindsides "The A-Team"

Hollywood's one-two punch of a 1980s flashback helped revive the dormant box office to life this weekend according to studio estimates. Sony's remake of the 1984 sleeper hit "The Karate Kid" surprised everyone, while Twentieth Century Fox's big-screen version of the '80s TV hit "The A-Team" arrived to smaller but solid numbers in second place. Combined, the two debuts gave the film industry a desperately-needed jolt following a dismal month of business. Overall, this weekend's business was up a healthy 10% from last weekend.

Produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's production company for a relatively cheap $40 million, "The Karate Kid" dropkicked an estimated $56 million in ticket sales from a huge 3,663 screen count, easily one of the biggest openers for the month of June. The PG-rated Jaden Smith/Jackie Chan remake succeeded in connecting with its targeted audiences: families and the nostalgia crowd, who made the original a surprise hit twenty-six years ago. Word of mouth has been strong, and the movie should be able to stand its ground again such big guns as next week's "Toy Story 3" and Paramount's "The Last Airbender" to become one of the bigger hits of 2010.

After a decades-long development period and a screenplay that passed through a reported eleven writers, Twentieth Century Fox's "The A-Team" arrived on 3,535 screens for an estimated $26 million take for the weekend. A hyperactive version of the cult TV favorite that ran from 1983-1987, Joe Carnahan's $100 million film version also clicked with its targeted demographics, young males and the nostalgia crowd, but unlike "Karate Kid", it didn't seem to succeed in reaching beyond that. Reviews were decidedly mixed for the Liam Neeson/Bradley Cooper starrer, so it will be up to ticket buyers to keep Murdoch and company afloat over the next few weeks.

Falling from first to third place was former three-week champ "Shrek Forever After" with $15.8 million and a new total of $210 million to date, making the film the fourth movie to cross the $200 million domestic mark this year. The film had a moderate 38% drop from last weekend, no doubt due to the arrival of the family-friendly "Karate Kid". Once again, Shrek and Donkey can thank the higher priced 3-D and IMAX tickets for cushioning the blow. The arrival of Buzz and Woody next week however should slow down the film considerably as it surrenders many of its IMAX and 3-D screens to the Pixar film. Watch for the film to finish off with a domestic gross of $230-235 million, which will make it the lowest-grossing of the series.

The best performer of last weekend's quartet of underperformers, Universal's "Get Him to the Greek", held reasonably well with an estimated weekend take of $10.1 million to bring its ten-day total to the $36.5 million. Off 42.5%, the film is hoping to finish near the $60 million mark that 2008's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" concluded at. A respectable amount for the $40 million comedy, but still lower than what the troubled studio may have been hoping for.

In fifth place was the maligned Aston Kutcher/Katherine Hiegl action comedy "Killers", which dropped by 48% to $8 million and a new ten-day total of $30.1 million. The $75 million Lionsgate film, their biggest-budgeted film to date, should finish with a meager $40-45 million at best.

In sixth place was the Disney franchise wannabe "Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time" with $6.6 million and a new overall total of $72.5 million. While the domestic box office for "Prince" has been weak, overseas has been anything but. As of today, the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced flick had collared a substantial $190.3 million from overseas markets. Seventh place went to the Fox's "Marmaduke", which added $6 million in its second weekend for a ten-day total of $22.2 million to date. Watch for the talking dog film to finish in the $32-35 million range.

In eighth spot was another movie that was expected to do better domestically, the comedy sequel "Sex and the City 2", which fell another 56% to $5.5 million and a new total of $84.7 million. Like "Prince of Persia" and Universal's "Robin Hood", the movie has show better legs overseas. For Carrie and the gals, "City 2" has brought in $105 million in overseas sales thus far. Watch for the sequel to finish its domestic run at or around $95 million.

"Iron Man 2" was in ninth place with an estimated take of $4.2 million and a new overall gross of $299 million. Overseas, Tony Stark has made $288 million so far. The sequel should cross the $300 million barrier on Tuesday of this upcoming week. Rounding out the top ten was Warner's well-received but largely ignored sci-fi flick "Splice", which dropped a dangerous 62.5% to $2.8 million and a weak ten-day total of $13 million. Just outside the top ten and may possibly switch places with "Splice" when actual numbers are released on Monday is "Robin Hood", collared an estimated $2.7 million for the weekend. With a new estimated domestic take of $99.6 million, the Ridley Scott epic should cross the $100 million mark early this week. Overseas, "Robin Hood" stands at $183.3 million.

Next weekend, the toys are back in town with Disney/Pixar's "Toy Story 3", while Josh Brolin and Megan Fox go west in Warner's "Jonah Hex".

Friday Box Office Estimates: "Karate Kid" Kicks "The A-Team"s Ass

Sony's reboot of "The Karate Kid" starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan opened to huge box office on Friday according to estimates, easily defeating Fox's big screen adaptation of the 1980s TV series "The A-Team".

Produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's production company for a fairly low-budget $40 million, the Sony film debuted on 3,663 screens for a $19 million opening day. The PG-friendly drama should see a healthy spike during Saturday matinees. Watch for this "Kid" to kick up approximately $54-57 million for its debut weekend.

The other 1980s flashback that debuted on Friday, Fox's pricey action flick "The A-Team" opened to a mediocre $9.5 million from 3,535 screens. The PG-13 action flick was expected to give "Kid" a run for its money this weekend, but it wasn't even close. Depending on how the word of mouth works out for Hannibal and his boys, the film might finish the weekend with $27-29 million which is good, but not quite the level that was expected from the studio.

In third place was recent three-week winner "Shrek Forever After" with $4.5 million in ticket sales, "Get Him to the Greek" was in fourth place with $3.2 million and fifth place went to "Killers" with $2.6 million in ticket sales. Is it me or have the ads for the last movie all but disappeared following its dismal opening last weekend?

Check back on Sunday for the top ten in ticket sales.

Weekend Box Office: "Shrek" Stays At Number One, New Arrivals Mixed At Best

A quartet of new films failed to spark much interest at the North American box office this weekend as Dreaworks Animation's "Shrek Forever After" stayed in the number one spot by a comfortable margin. Of the four new releases, Universal's raunchy rock comedy "Get Him to the Greek" and Lionsgate's "Killers" fared the best, while Fox's "Marmaduke" and Warner's "Splice" both bombed. Weekend business was not only down a hefty percentage from last weekend's holiday sales, but it was also down a troubling 26% from last year at this time as the general public continues to just say no to a weak lineup of summer offerings.


The first of the franchise to stay at number one for three weeks running, "Shrek Forever After" added an estimated $25.3 million from 4,367 screens to bring its 17-day total to the $185 million mark. The film should pass the $200 million milestone by the start of next weekend. The estimated weekend take for "Forever After" was close to the third weekend gross of "Shrek The Third" (which did $28.7 million in its third weekend), but is trailing that film's overall gross by roughly $70 million. Until "Toy Story 3" arrives in less than two weeks, "Shrek" should continue to reap the benefits of premium 3-D and IMAX prices.

Opening in second place was the Judd Apatow-produced comedy "Get Him To the Greek" with a decent $17.4 million from 2, 687 screens. Reuniting the director and two stars of the 2008 sleeper hit "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "Greek" received mostly positive reviews but was hindered by Universal's ad campaign, which didn't do a particularly good job at selling the movie to audiences. Word-of-mouth will be the determining factor in whether "Greek" manages to become a sleeper hit over the next few weeks.

One could argue that a lack of star power was a factor in the so-so debut of "Get Him to the Greek". But having stars Katherine Higel and Aston Kutcher (if you can actually consider him a star...or an actor) in the leads for the $75 million Lionsgate comedy "Killers" couldn't help it bring in more than $16.1 million in its debut weekend from 2,859 screens. The "True Lies" wannabe wasn't screened for critics, which is never a good sign. Having a potential new owner of Lionsgate, Carl Ichan, bad mouth the movie during an interview on CNN would be another. But one didn't need critics or billionaires to let them know that the movie was a dog. The two-minute trailer or 60-second television spots were more than enough to keep people away.

In fourth place with a 54% drop from last weekend was Disney's "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" with a $13.9 million weekend gross and a new ten-day total of approximately $60 million. Much like Universal's "Robin Hood", "Persia" is compensating for a lackluster domestic box office run with a more robust overseas gross. As of Thursday, "Prince" has bagged $100 million from foreign markets. Watch for the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced action flick to finish with roughly $80 million in domestic sales.

Also in its second weekend, Warner's "Sex and the City 2" broke a heel and fell 59% to an estimated $12.7 million from 3,445 screens and a new estimated total of $73.4 million. In comparison, the 2008 original grossed $21 million in its second weekend to bring its two-week take to $99 million. If the new film continues to freefall the way it currently is, it should finish in the $90-95 million range, roughly $50-52 million less than its predecessor (which will hopefully spare us from a third film).

In sixth place was Fox's latest live-action talking animal comedy, "Marmaduke", with an anemic $11.3 million from 3,213 screens. Hoping for another "Garfield" or "Alvin and the Chipmunks", the family comedy had the biggest screen count of all of the new films released. However, terrible reviews, the presence of "Shrek Forever After" and basing a movie on a comic strip character few kids (if any) know about kept the target demographic (families) away in droves. Fox might have been wiser to release this, ahem, dog in a less competitive time frame such as March or April.

Tony Stark landed in seventh place this weekend as "Iron Man 2" added an estimated $7.8 million to its total, which now sits at approximately $291.2 million. The sequel should finish in the $305-310 million range. In eighth place was the Warner sci-fi flick "Splice", which crashed and burned with an awful $7.45 million take from 2,450 screens despite overall decent reviews and an effective ad campaign. An acquisition from the film festival circuit, Warner's low financial investment in the movie should be easy to recoup once video and cable television sales are factored into the mix down the road.

Inching closer to the $100 million domestic mark is Universal's "Robin Hood", off 51% to add an estimated $5.1 million to its coffers, which now stand at $94.2 million. As of last Thursday, the overseas haul for the Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe flick stood at $165 million. Rounding out the top ten this weekend was the Amanda Seyfried sleeper hit "Letters to Juliet" with a $3 million estimated weekend take and a new overall total of $43.3 million to date.

And in closing, let us take a moment to note the passing of Universal's "MacGruber", which lost 2,396 of its 2,546 screens this past weekend to drop 94% from last weekend to $96,000 and a new total of $8.4 million. Fare thee well, MacG.

Next weekend, Hollywood takes a nostalgia trip to the 1980s with the arrival of the big screen version of the television series "The A-Team" and the remake of the 1984 hit "The Karate Kid".