Pixar's `Incredibles' No. 1 With $70.7 Mln in Sales
Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Pixar's ``The Incredibles,'' the animated superhero film distributed by Walt Disney Co., opened as the top movie at U.S. and Canadian theaters this weekend, with $70.7 million in ticket sales, the studio's best debut ever.
General Electric Co.'s ``Ray,'' the Universal Pictures film starring Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles, remained in second place, with $13.8 million, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. Sony Corp.'s thriller ``The Grudge,'' which spent two weeks in the top spot, fell to third with $13.5 million.
Pixar's win with ``The Incredibles,'' the second-to-last film in its distribution deal with Disney, extends the computer- animated film company's success after hits including ``Finding Nemo,'' ``Monsters, Inc.'' and ``Toy Story.'' The undersea adventure ``Nemo'' made its debut in May 2003 with $70.3 million, which had been the highest open for an animated film.
``Everyone was expecting the world from this movie and it delivered,'' said Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com, a movie-industry Web site, who expected the movie to make $70 million. `` `The Incredibles' is a great product, the word of mouth is good, the reviews are great.''
Pixar and Disney's first five movies have brought in more than $2.6 billion in worldwide sales.
DreamWorks Animation SKG's ``Shrek 2'' brought in $129 million in its Wednesday-to-Sunday opening in May. It's the No. 1 animated film ever, with $436.5 million in box office sales. In its first weekend, ``Shrek 2'' surpassed ``Nemo'' as the highest animated opening ever, with $108 million.
`Alfie'
Viacom Inc.'s ``Alfie,'' a Paramount Pictures film starring Britain's Jude Law, opened in fifth place with $6.5 million.
``The Incredibles'' follows a superhero family forced to set aside their powers to live a normal and quiet suburban life. Hardest hit by this new life as a family man and an insurance claims adjuster is Mr. Incredible, who longs for the glory days of upholding the law. He eventually gets his chance.
Next week, ``The Incredibles' will face competition from the opening of ``The Polar Express,'' an animated Christmas film from Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Brothers featuring actor Tom Hanks, about a boy who takes a train ride to the North Pole. The Pixar movie should hold up against ``The Polar Express,'' Pandya said.
``It'll get very competitive on Wednesday with `Polar Express,' '' Pandya said. ``(But) comedies do much better in the animation world.''
`Saw'
In ``Ray,'' Foxx plays Charles as he finds his calling as a rhythm-and-blues singer and pianist. He's faced with the challenges of overcoming the accidental death of his brother and his own blindness and drug addiction.
``The Grudge,'' a Columbia Pictures release from Japanese director Takashi Shimizu and producer Sam Raimi, tells the story of a supernatural curse that is passed from victim to victim.
The thriller ``Saw,'' from Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., fell to fourth from third, with $11.4 million. The movie follows a killer's wicked game of trapping two people in a room together. They are forced to decide whether they must kill each other in order to save themselves.
``Alfie,'' a remake of the 1966 Michael Caine film, follows Law's character as a philosophical womanizer who is forced to question his seemingly carefree existence. The film also features Marisa Tomei and Susan Sarandon.
``Jude Law is not a major box-office draw in U.S. markets,'' Pandya said. ``He's a bigger draw in the U.K. and overseas.''
`Shark Tale'
Disney's ``Shall We Dance'' fell to sixth from fifth, with $5.7 million. The movie is in its fourth week of release and stars Richard Gere as a middle-age lawyer who finds new enthusiasm for life and his marriage after taking dance lessons.
The DreamWorks comedy ``Shark Tale'' fell to seventh from fourth, with $4.6 million and has grossed $154.1 million in six weeks. The film stars Will Smith as the voice of a fish that draws the ire of a gangster crew of sharks. Robert De Niro co-stars as a crime boss, and Renee Zellweger plays an angel fish with a crush on Smith's character.
The high-school football drama ``Friday Night Lights,'' from General Electric's Universal, dropped to eighth from sixth with $3 million.
Disney's firefighter drama ``Ladder 49,'' starring Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta, fell to ninth place from seventh, with $2.6 million. Viacom's ``Team America: World Police,'' featuring puppet commandos who battle terrorists, fell to 10th place, with $1.9 million in sales.
Sales for Week Fall
Sales for the top 12 films fell 5.3 percent to $136.1 million from the year-earlier period, according to Encino, California- based Exhibitor Relations.
For the top 10, Disney and Pixar had the largest market share this weekend with $70.7 million, followed by General Electric with $16.8 million, Sony with $13.5 million, Lions Gate with $11.4 million, Viacom with $8.4 million, Disney's other movie studios with $8.3 million, and DreamWorks with $4.6 million. Among companies with major Hollywood studios, News Corp., Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer Inc. and Time Warner Inc. failed to place a film in the top 10.
The weekend results were based on gross receipts for Friday and yesterday and estimates for today. The following chart contains figures provided by studios to Exhibitor Relations:
Last Updated: November 7, 2004 16:12 ES
Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Pixar's ``The Incredibles,'' the animated superhero film distributed by Walt Disney Co., opened as the top movie at U.S. and Canadian theaters this weekend, with $70.7 million in ticket sales, the studio's best debut ever.
General Electric Co.'s ``Ray,'' the Universal Pictures film starring Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles, remained in second place, with $13.8 million, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. Sony Corp.'s thriller ``The Grudge,'' which spent two weeks in the top spot, fell to third with $13.5 million.
Pixar's win with ``The Incredibles,'' the second-to-last film in its distribution deal with Disney, extends the computer- animated film company's success after hits including ``Finding Nemo,'' ``Monsters, Inc.'' and ``Toy Story.'' The undersea adventure ``Nemo'' made its debut in May 2003 with $70.3 million, which had been the highest open for an animated film.
``Everyone was expecting the world from this movie and it delivered,'' said Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com, a movie-industry Web site, who expected the movie to make $70 million. `` `The Incredibles' is a great product, the word of mouth is good, the reviews are great.''
Pixar and Disney's first five movies have brought in more than $2.6 billion in worldwide sales.
DreamWorks Animation SKG's ``Shrek 2'' brought in $129 million in its Wednesday-to-Sunday opening in May. It's the No. 1 animated film ever, with $436.5 million in box office sales. In its first weekend, ``Shrek 2'' surpassed ``Nemo'' as the highest animated opening ever, with $108 million.
`Alfie'
Viacom Inc.'s ``Alfie,'' a Paramount Pictures film starring Britain's Jude Law, opened in fifth place with $6.5 million.
``The Incredibles'' follows a superhero family forced to set aside their powers to live a normal and quiet suburban life. Hardest hit by this new life as a family man and an insurance claims adjuster is Mr. Incredible, who longs for the glory days of upholding the law. He eventually gets his chance.
Next week, ``The Incredibles' will face competition from the opening of ``The Polar Express,'' an animated Christmas film from Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Brothers featuring actor Tom Hanks, about a boy who takes a train ride to the North Pole. The Pixar movie should hold up against ``The Polar Express,'' Pandya said.
``It'll get very competitive on Wednesday with `Polar Express,' '' Pandya said. ``(But) comedies do much better in the animation world.''
`Saw'
In ``Ray,'' Foxx plays Charles as he finds his calling as a rhythm-and-blues singer and pianist. He's faced with the challenges of overcoming the accidental death of his brother and his own blindness and drug addiction.
``The Grudge,'' a Columbia Pictures release from Japanese director Takashi Shimizu and producer Sam Raimi, tells the story of a supernatural curse that is passed from victim to victim.
The thriller ``Saw,'' from Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., fell to fourth from third, with $11.4 million. The movie follows a killer's wicked game of trapping two people in a room together. They are forced to decide whether they must kill each other in order to save themselves.
``Alfie,'' a remake of the 1966 Michael Caine film, follows Law's character as a philosophical womanizer who is forced to question his seemingly carefree existence. The film also features Marisa Tomei and Susan Sarandon.
``Jude Law is not a major box-office draw in U.S. markets,'' Pandya said. ``He's a bigger draw in the U.K. and overseas.''
`Shark Tale'
Disney's ``Shall We Dance'' fell to sixth from fifth, with $5.7 million. The movie is in its fourth week of release and stars Richard Gere as a middle-age lawyer who finds new enthusiasm for life and his marriage after taking dance lessons.
The DreamWorks comedy ``Shark Tale'' fell to seventh from fourth, with $4.6 million and has grossed $154.1 million in six weeks. The film stars Will Smith as the voice of a fish that draws the ire of a gangster crew of sharks. Robert De Niro co-stars as a crime boss, and Renee Zellweger plays an angel fish with a crush on Smith's character.
The high-school football drama ``Friday Night Lights,'' from General Electric's Universal, dropped to eighth from sixth with $3 million.
Disney's firefighter drama ``Ladder 49,'' starring Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta, fell to ninth place from seventh, with $2.6 million. Viacom's ``Team America: World Police,'' featuring puppet commandos who battle terrorists, fell to 10th place, with $1.9 million in sales.
Sales for Week Fall
Sales for the top 12 films fell 5.3 percent to $136.1 million from the year-earlier period, according to Encino, California- based Exhibitor Relations.
For the top 10, Disney and Pixar had the largest market share this weekend with $70.7 million, followed by General Electric with $16.8 million, Sony with $13.5 million, Lions Gate with $11.4 million, Viacom with $8.4 million, Disney's other movie studios with $8.3 million, and DreamWorks with $4.6 million. Among companies with major Hollywood studios, News Corp., Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer Inc. and Time Warner Inc. failed to place a film in the top 10.
The weekend results were based on gross receipts for Friday and yesterday and estimates for today. The following chart contains figures provided by studios to Exhibitor Relations:
Last Updated: November 7, 2004 16:12 ES
