HOLLYWOOD - That's Incredible!Disney and Pixar Animation Studio's latest animated endeavor The Incredibles--about a family of superheroes trying to make a go at being regular folk--easily took the top spot with a superhuman $70.6 million and now stands as Pixar's best opening ever, beating last year's Finding Nemo, which opened with $70.2 million.
"It's more important to have a great story and then to use the technology to bring it to life, and they have never lost sight of that," Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, told The Associated Press. "They deliver absolutely the best story first and meld it with the most unbelievable technology out there."
It's widely known now that Disney and Pixar will be going their separate ways, when their deal expires after next November's release of Cars. Negotiations to extend the deal fell apart earlier this year, though there has been speculation the two companies still might partner up again in the future.
"It's a shame they can't get this together, because it's been such a successful partnership," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, told AP. "This formula has worked for years, consistently, with every movie out of this Disney-Pixar alliance."
Meanwhile, the Ray Charles biopic Ray held onto second place with $13.8 million, with scary flicks The Grudge ($13.5 million) and Saw ($11.4 million) following in the third and fourth spots, respectively. Newcomer Alfie, starring Jude Law as a dashing lothario who has to change his womanizing ways, rounded out the Top Five, debuting with $6.5 million.
This weekend, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $136.1 million, up 47.49 percent from last weekend's $92.3 million take but down 5.30 percent from last year's draw of $143.7 million.
The top three films at the box office this time last year were: Warner Bros. PG-13 rated The Matrix Revolutions, which opened at No. 1 with $48.4 million in 3,502 theaters, averaging $13,842 per theater; New Line Cinema's PG-rated Elf, which debuted with $31.1 million in 3,337 theaters, averaging $9,324 per theater; and Buena Vista's G-rated Brother Bear, which dropped to third place in its third week with $18.5 million in 3,030 theaters, averaging $6,114 per theater.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES:
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: The Incredibles (Buena Vista/Pixar, PG)
• Gross: $70.6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,933
• Per-theater average: $17,971
No. 2: Ray (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $13.6 million (-31%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,463 (+457)
• Per-theater average: $5,603
• Cume to date: $39.8 million
No. 3: The Grudge (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $13.5 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,336 (-12)
• Per-theater average: $4,047
• Cume to date: $89.5 million
No. 4: Saw (Lions Gate, R)
• Gross: $11.4 million (-38%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,467
• Per-theater average: $4,621
• Cume to date: $35.7 million
No. 5: Alfie (Paramount, R)
• Gross: $6.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,215
• Per-theater average: $2,935
No. 6: Shall We Dance? (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.6 million (-10%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,542 (+66)
• Per-theater average: $2,223
• Cume to date: $42.1 million
No. 7: Shark Tale (DreamWorks, PG)
• Gross: $4.6 million (-39%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 2,817 (-564)
• Per-theater average: $1,633
• Cume to date: $154.1 million
No. 8: Friday Night Lights (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $3 million (-27%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,110 (-894)
• Per-theater average: $1,422
• Cume to date: $57.3 million
No. 9: Ladder 49 (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.6 million (-19%)
• Weeks opened: 6
• Theaters: 1,670 (-712)
• Per-theater average: $1,572
• Cume to date: $69.9 million
No. 10: Team America: World Police (Paramount, R)
• Gross: $1.8 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 1,702 (-633)
• Per-theater average: $1,090
• Cume to date: $30.4 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Fade to Black (Paramount Classics, R)
• Gross: $475,648 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 170
• Per-theater average: $2,798