Ice Age: The Meltdown stayed on top for the second week at the North American box office, grossing a respectable $34.5 million over the weekend. The animated sequel fended off the Rob Schneider–David Spade baseball comedy The Benchwarmers, which debuted as runner-up with $20.5 million.
Along with Benchwarmers, the other newcomers included Take the Lead, a ballroom dance tale starring Antonio Banderas, which opened in third with $12.8 million; the crime romp Lucky Number Slevin, starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley, which debuted at No. 5 with $7.1 million; and the comedy Phat Girlz, starring Mo’Nique, premiered in ninth place with $3.1 million.
Ice Age: The Meltdown has become the first movie released this year to cross the $100 million mark. While the first few months of the year are Hollywood’s slowest, the industry usually has produced a $100 million hit by February or March.
“This is a late bloomer,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press.
The Top 12 films this week grossed an estimated $105.1 million, down 20.41 percent from last weekend’s total of $132 million but up 33.10 percent from last year’s draw of $78.9 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Paramount’s PG-13 rated Sahara, which debuted at No. 1 with $18 million in 3,154 theaters, averaging $5,729 per theater; Dimension’s R-rated Sin City, which dropped to second place in its second week with $14.1 million in 3,230 theaters, averaging $4,382 per theaters; and 20th Century Fox’s PG-13 Fever Pitch, which opened in third place with $12.4 million in 3,267 theaters, averaging $3,796 per theaters (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Ice Age: The Meltdown (20th Century Fox, PG)
• Gross: $34.5 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,969
• Per-theater average: $8,692
• Cume to date: $116.4 million
No. 2: The Benchwarmers (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $20.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,274
• Per-theater average: $6,261
No. 3: Take the Lead (New Line Cinema, PG-13)
• Gross: $12.7 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,009
• Per-theater average: $4,246
No. 4: Inside Man (Universal, R)
• Gross: $9.2 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,867 (+37)
• Per-theater average: $3,209
• Cume to date: $66.1 million
No. 5: Lucky Number Slevin (MGM, R)
• Gross: $7.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,984
• Per-theater average: $3,594
No. 6: Failure to Launch (Paramount, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.1 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 2,616 (-458)
• Per-theater average: $1,570
• Cume to date: $79.1 million
No. 7: ATL (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $3.7 million (-68%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,602 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,341
• Cume to date: $17.2 million
No. 8: V for Vendetta (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,003 (-907)
• Per-theater average: $1,680
• Cume to date: $62.2 million
No. 9: Phat Girlz (Fox Searchlight, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.1 million
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,056
• Per-theater average: $2,936
No. 10: Thank You for Smoking (Fox Searchlight, R)
• Gross: $2.4 million (+49%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 300 (+174)
• Per-theater average: $8,000
• Cume to date: $6.2 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Friends with Money (Sony Pictures Classics, R)
• Gross: $636,681
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 28
• Per-theater average: $22,739
When Do We Eat? (ThinkFilm, R)
• Gross: $146,536
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 48
• Per-theater average: $3,053
