It was another solid weekend for Hollywood, with a slew of studio blockbusters keeping audiences entertained (and in air-conditioned theaters) in this post-July 4th weekend. The box office estimates for this weekend’s top five films come from Hollywood.com‘s own Paul Dergarabedian, our resident box office expert:
Universal Picture’s Despicable Me, starring the voice of Steve Carell as the villain ‘Gru’, conquered this weekend’s box office, taking down an estimated $60,117,420. That haul comes courtesy of the 3,475 theaters in which the 3D animated movie ran in its opening weekend.
Summit Entertainment’s Twilight: Eclipse remained a strong draw in its second week, pulling in $33,350,000 from 4,468 domestic locations. Twilight heartthrobs Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, and Kristen Stewart have helped the third installment of the vampire (and werewolf) saga gross a cumulative $237,012, 377 to date, after opening June 30th with the largest ever midnight take of $30 million.
Fox’s R-Rated Predators reboot opened behind Twilight with $25,300,000, with the star-studded ensemble cast including Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, and Laurence Fishburne appearing in some 2,669 US locations.
Meanwhile, Disney’s Toy Story 3, starring the familiar voice of Tom Hanks as ‘Woody’, continued to attract audiences in its third week, taking down another $22,021,000 this weekend. The third Toy Story, which premiered June 18th — some 15 years after the original Toy Story — has now grossed over $340 million dollars in the United States alone.
Paramount’s The Last Airbender — director M. Night Shyamalan‘s blockbuster live action adaptation of the popular cartoon series — grossed $17,150,000 in its second week, while increasing its run in theaters to 3,203. The 3D blockbuster stars Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, and Jackson Rathbone.
