HOLLYWOOD - The CGI-filled Robots, from the creators of Ice Age, easily took this weekend's top spot at the box office with a well-oiled $36.5 million. It pushed last week's champ The Pacifier, which earned a soothing $18 million, down to second place.Robots--about a small-town metal man who dreams big and has an adventure of a lifetime with the vocal talents of Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, Halle Berry and more--becomes the second best March opener ever, behind its predecessor Ice Age, which opened in 2002 with $46.3 million.
The Bruce Willis actioner Hostage debuted at No. 4 with $9.8 million, while a re-cut, toned-down version of The Passion of the Christ grossed a measly $225,000 in a limited release.
This weekend, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $ 103.1 million, down 5.44 percent from last weekend's $109.1 million take and down .92 percent from last year's draw of $104.1 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Newmarket's R-rated The Passion of the Christ, which stayed at No. 1 in its third week with $32.1 million in 3,221 theaters, averaging $9,975 per theater; Sony Pictures' R-rated Secret Window, which opened in second place with $18.2 million in 3,018 theaters, averaging $6,043 per theater; and Warner Bros. PG-13 rated Starsky & Hutch, which stayed in third place in its second week with $16 million in 3,185 theaters, averaging $5,029 per theater.
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BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Robots (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $36.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,776
• Per-theater average: $9,666
No. 2: The Pacifier (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $18 million (-41%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,166 (+35)
• Per-theater average: $5,704
• Cume to date: $54.3 million
No. 3: Be Cool (MGM, PG-13)
• Gross: $10.3 million
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,216 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $3,203
• Cume to date: $38.4 million
No. 4: Hostage (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $9.8 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,123
• Per-theater average: $4,634
No. 5: Hitch (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $8.7 million (-28%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,975 (-463)
• Per-theater average: $2,924
• Cume to date: $149.7 million
No. 6: Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $5 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 13
• Theaters: 2,375 (+25)
• Per-theater average: $2,137
• Cume to date: $83.9 million
No. 7: Diary of a Mad Black Woman (Lions Gate, PG-13)
• Gross: $5 million (-55%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,605 (-98)
• Per-theater average: $3,115
• Cume to date: $44.1 million
No. 8: Constantine (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $3.6 million(-40%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,170 (-588)
• Per-theater average: $1,684
• Cume to date: $66.3 million
No. 9: Man of the House (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $1.8 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,903 (-519)
• Per-theater average: $946
• Cume to date: $16.5 million
No. 10: Cursed (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $1.5 million (-60%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,687 (-1118)
• Per-theater average: $924
• Cume to date: $17.7 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Upside of Anger (New Line Cinema, R)
• Gross: $225,783
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 9
• Per-theater average: $25,087
The Passion of the Christ Re-cut (Newmarket, NR)
• Gross: $225,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 954
• Per-theater average: $236
Millions (Fox Searchlight, PG)
• Gross: $72,987
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 5
• Per-theater average: $14,597