The Martin Lawrence/Ashton Kutcher animated comedy Open Season, about a bear and deer who take on hunters, debuted at the top of the North American box office with $23 million.
The Kutcher/Kevin Costner starrer The Guardian, meanwhile, opened in second place with $17.7 million, knocking last week’s champ Jackass 2 to the No. 3 spot with $14 million. The weekend’s other new wide release, the comedy School for Scoundrels, starring Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Heder, premiered in the fourth spot with $9.1 million.
Open Season was the debut release from Sony Pictures Animation, a unit the studio hopes to establish as a regular producer of digital cartoons alongside such industry pioneers as Pixar Animation and DreamWorks Animation.
“It’s a great first step,” Yair Landau, president of Sony Pictures Digital, told The Associated Press. “It takes years and multiple films to build a brand, and certainly we’d like audiences to think of us in the pantheon.”
The Top 12 movies grossed $85.1 million this weekend, up 13.10 percent from last year’s draw of $75.2 and up 3.51 percent from last weekend’s total of $82.2 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Buena Vista’s Flightplan, which stayed at No. 1 in its second week of release with $14.8 million in 3,424 theaters, averaging $4,324 per theater; Universal’s Serenity, which opened in second place with $10.08 million in 2,188 theaters, averaging $4,610 per theaters; and Warner Bros.’ Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, which dropped to third place in its third week with $10.03 million in 3,204 theaters, averaging $3,131 per theaters (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Open Season (Sony Pictures, PG)
• Gross: $23 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,833
• Per-theater average: $6,001
No. 2: The Guardian (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $17.6 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,241
• Per-theater average: $5,451
No. 3: Jackass: Number Two (Paramount, R)
• Gross: $14 million (-52%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,063 (+4)
• Per-theater average: $4,574
• Cume to date: $51.4 million
No. 4: School for Scoundrels (MGM, PG-13)
• Gross: $9.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,004
• Per-theater average: $3,032
No. 5: Jet Li’s Fearless (Focus/Rogue Features, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.7 million (-56%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,810 (+2)
• Per-theater average: $2,598
• Cume to date: $17.7 million
No. 6: Gridiron Gang (Sony Picts., PG-13)
• Gross: $4.5 million (-52%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,033 (-477)
• Per-theater average: $1,484
• Cume to date: $33.1 million
No. 7: The Illusionist (Yari Film Group, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.8 million (-15%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 1,319 (-113)
• Per-theater average: $2,157
• Cume to date: $31.4 million
No. 8: Flyboys (MGM, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.3 million (-61%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,033 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,141
• Cume to date: $9.9 million
No. 9: The Black Dahlia (Universal, R)
• Gross: $2.06 million (-54%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,002 (-234)
• Per-theater average: $1,033
No. 10: Little Miss Sunshine (Fox Searchlight, R)
• Gross: $2.02 million (-28%)
• Weeks opened: 10
• Theaters: 1,065 (-319)
• Per-theater average: $1,897
• Cume to date: $53.1 million
OTHER OPENINGS
The Last King of Scotland (Fox Searchlight, R)
• Gross: $143,252
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 4
• Per-theater average: $35,813
The Queen (Miramax, PG-13)
• Gross: $123,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3
• Per-theater average: $41,000
