The sky didn’t fall on Chicken Little this weekend.
The first CGI-animated effort from Disney without Pixar, Chicken Little –about a goodhearted chick (voiced by Zach Braff) who tries to convince everyone the end of the world is nigh–easily took the lead in its opening weekend with a tastey $40 million. Meanwhile, the Gulf War drama Jarhead, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, debuted in second place with $28.8 million.
“Immediately after Halloween, whatever it is, people’s mind-set turns to movies,” Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, which released Chicken Little, told The Associated Press. “There’s such anticipation for Harry Potter, Narnia and Kong. There are some monstrously big openings ahead of us.”
Although the numbers sound good, the overall box office was still down from the same time last year, when The Incredibles premiered with $70.5 million. This year’s movie attendance is running 8 percent behind last year’s, AP reports.
The Top 12 films grossed an estimated a four-day total of $121.8 million, down 9.85 percent from last year’s draw of $134.4 million but up 39.34 percent from last weekend’s $86.9 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Buena Vista/Pixar’s PG rated The Incredibles, which opened at No. 1 with $70.4 million in 3,933 theaters, averaging $17,927 per theater; Universal Pictures’ PG-13 rated Ray, which stayed in second place in its second week with $13.6 million in 2,463 theaters, averaging $5,540 per theater; and Sony Pictures’ PG-13 rated The Grudge, which dropped to third place in its third week with $12.6 million in 3,336 theaters, averaging $3,800 per theater. (Click here to read last year’s box office report)
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Chicken Little (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $40 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,654
• Per-theater average: $10,970
No. 2: Jarhead (Universal, R)
• Gross: $28.8 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,411
• Per-theater average: $11,945
No. 3: Saw II (Lions Gate, R)
• Gross: $17.2 million (-46%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,949 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $5,832
• Cume to date: $60.4 million
No. 4: The Legend of Zorro (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $10 million (-39%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,520 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,841
• Cume to date: $30.2 million
No. 5: Prime (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.3 million (-15%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,837 (+10)
• Per-theater average: $2,885
• Cume to date: $13.5 million
No. 6: Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story (DreamWorks, PG)
• Gross: $4.8 million (-22%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,617 (+126)
• Per-theater average: $1,834
• Cume to date: $23.8 million
No. 7: Good Night, and Good Luck (Warner Independent, PG)
• Gross: $3.1 million (+55%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 657 (+385)
• Per-theater average: $4,718
• Cume to date: $11 million
No. 8: The Weather Man (Paramount Pictures, R)
• Gross: $2.9 million (-31%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,510 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,944
• Cume to date: $8.7 million
No. 9: Shopgirl (Buena Vista, R)
• Gross: $2.5 million (+444%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 493 (+451)
• Per-theater average: $5,120
• Cume to date: $3.4 million
No. 10: Flightplan (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.3 million (-15%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 1,445 (-321)
• Per-theater average: $1,612
• Cume to date: $84.4 million
