Disney-Pixar’s animated comedy Cars zoomed across the finish line first this weekend at the North American box office with a fuel-injected $62.8 million debut.
Cars stands as the third-best opening in the Disney-Pixar history, just ahead of Monsters, Inc. but behind The Incredibles and Finding Nemo, which both debuted at about $70 million. The six prior Disney-Pixar films have all opened at No.1 and have grossed a total of $3.2 billion worldwide.
“They are the closest thing to a sure thing in Hollywood,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press. “They are money in the bank.”
The weekend’s other new wide release, the horror remake The Omen, came in fourth place with $15.4 million. It has grossed $35.7 million since opening on Tuesday, taking advantage of the date–6-6-06–a play on the number signifying the anti-Christ. Also released was Robert Altman‘s A Prairie Home Companion, which debuted in seventh place with $4.7 million.
The Top 12 pics this week grossed an estimated $148.7, up 15.16 percent from last weekend’s total of $129.1 million and up 7.76 percent from last year’s draw of $138 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: 20th Century Fox’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which opened at No. 1 with $50.3 million in 3,424 theaters, averaging $14,703 per theater; DreamWorks’ Madagascar, which dropped to second place in its third week with $17.1 million in 3,929 theaters, averaging $4,373 per theaters; and 20th Cent Fox’s Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, which stayed to third place in its fourth week with $14.8 million in 3,222 theaters, averaging $4,471 per theaters (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Cars (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $62.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,985
• Per-theater average: $15,759
No. 2: The Break-Up (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $20.5 million (-48%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,075 (+5)
• Per-theater average: $6,667
• Cume to date: $74.1 million
No. 3: X-Men: The Last Stand (20th Cent Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $15.5 million (-54%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,680
• Per-theater average: $4,226
• Cume to date: $201.7 million
No. 4: The Omen (20th Cent Fox, R)
• Gross: $15.4 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,723
• Per-theater average: $5,674
• Cume to date: $35.7 million (Opened Tuesday)
No. 5: Over the Hedge (DreamWorks, PG)
• Gross: $10.301 million (-50%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,527 (-466)
• Per-theater average: $2,921
• Cume to date: $130.2 million
No. 6: The Da Vinci Code (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $10.300 million (-45%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,319 (-438)
• Per-theater average: $3,103
• Cume to date: $189 million
No. 7: A Prairie Home Companion (Picturehouse, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 760
• Per-theater average: $6,147
No. 8: Mission: Impossible III (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $3 million (-35%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 1,908 (-759)
• Per-theater average: $1,593
• Cume to date: $127.5 million
No. 9: R.V. (Sony Pictures, PG)
• Gross: $2 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 1,622 (-559)
• Per-theater average: $1,233
• Cume to date: $65 million
No. 10: Poseidon (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $1.8 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 1,724 (-996)
• Per-theater average: $1,067
• Cume to date: $54.9 million
OTHER OPENINGS
The Heart of the Game (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $12,200
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3
• Per-theater average: $4,067
