HOLLYWOOD - Santa Claus was no match for a jet-setting family of superheroes. Disney and Pixar Animation Studio's latest animated endeavor The Incredibles stayed in the top spot for the second week, raking in a chunky $51 million, and beating out animated newcomer The Polar Express, about a boy who takes a mysterious train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, which came in second with $23.5 million.
With a reportedly $170 million budget, The Polar Express, which opened Wednesday, received mixed reviews--some critics calling it Christmas magic while others thought the computer-generated human figures resembled dead-eyed zombies. Dan Fellman, head of Warner Bros. distribution isn't worried, believing the film will hold up well through the holidays, The Associated Press reports.
"Momentum for us is on the climb, which is exactly what our strategy was, to get ourselves some money in the bank and have some great word of mouth before we really hit the holidays," Fellman told AP.
Other newcomers to make it to the Top 10 this weekend included: the heist comedy After the Sunset, starring Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek, which opened in the third spot with $11.5 million; the romantic comedy sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, starring a beefed-up Renee Zellweger, which premiered in fourth with $8.9 million; and the campy Seed of Chucky, in which the maniacal doll comes back to further populate the world, debuted in fifth place with $8.7 million.
This weekend, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $136 million, up 1.18 percent from last weekend's $134.4 million take and up 11.38 percent from last year's draw of $122.1 million.
The top three films at the box office this time last year were: New Line's PG-rated Elf, which moved up to the No. 1 spot in its second week with $26.3 million in 3,381 theaters, averaging $7,786 per theater; 20th Century Fox's PG-13 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, which debuted in second place with $25.1 million in 3,101 theaters, averaging $8,096 per theater; and Warner Bros. PG-13 rated The Matrix Revolutions, which dropped to third place in its second week with $16.4 million in 3,502 theaters, averaging $4,687 per theater.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Incredibles (Buena Vista/Pixar, PG)
• Gross: $51 million
• Weeks opened: 2 (-28%)
• Theaters: 3,933 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $12,980
• Cume to date: $144 million
No. 2: The Polar Express (Warners Bros., G)
• Gross: $23.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,650
• Per-theater average: $6,447
• Cume to date: $30.8 million (opened Wednesday)
No. 3: After the Sunset (New Line, PG-13)
• Gross: $11.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,819
• Per-theater average: $4,079
No. 4: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (Universal, R)
• Gross: $8.9 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 530
• Per-theater average: $16,792
No. 5: Seed of Chucky (Rogue Pictures, R)
• Gross: $8.7 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,059
• Per-theater average: $4,258
No. 6: Ray (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $8.4 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,474 (+11)
• Per-theater average: $3,395
• Cume to date: $52.5 million
No. 7: The Grudge (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $7.1 million (-44%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,816 (-520)
• Per-theater average: $2,521
• Cume to date: $99.3 million
No. 8: Saw (Lions Gate, R)
• Gross: $6.4 million (-42%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,467 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,594
• Cume to date: $45.7 million
No. 9: Shall We Dance? (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $4 million (-28%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,065 (-477)
• Per-theater average: $1,977
• Cume to date: $48.7 million
No. 10: Alfie (Paramount, R)
• Gross: $2.7 million (-55%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,215 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,253
OTHER OPENINGS
Finding Neverland (Miramax, PG)
• Gross: $220,457 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 8
• Per-theater average: $27,557
Kinsey (Fox Searchlight, R)
• Gross: $175,026 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 5
• Per-theater average: $35,005