'Despicable Me' wins weekend
Source: Agencies |
July 13, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
"DESPICABLE Me," a new 3D cartoon featuring the voice of Steve Carell as a bumbling supervillain, stole the top spot at the weekend box office in North America, signaling the entry of a pair of new rivals for Pixar and DreamWorks Animation.
The film earned an estimated US$60.1 million across the United States and Canada during the three days beginning last Friday, said Universal Pictures, which financed and distributed the debut release from former 20th Century Fox animation chief Chris Meledandri's new company, Illumination Entertainment.
As with cartoon powerhouses Pixar and DreamWorks Animation's respective "Toy Story" and "Shrek" movies, a string of lucrative sequels is inevitable.
"This is going to be an absolutely great franchise for Universal and Illumination," said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of distribution.
Carell, star of "The Office," supplies the voice of Gru, whose dastardly scheme to steal the moon is thwarted by three orphaned girls who see him as a father figure. Critics approved of the picture, noting its obvious debt to the Pixar oeuvre.
Coincidentally, Pixar's "Toy Story 3" became the biggest film both of the year and in the history of the Walt Disney Co unit.
The sequel slipped one place to No. 4 with US$22 million, taking its total to US$340.2 million after four weekends. If estimates hold, it will have surpassed the US$339.7 million total of Pixar's 2003 hit "Finding Nemo." In the 2010 rankings, it replaced "Alice in Wonderland" (US$334 million) at the top.
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc's fourth "Shrek" film, on the other hand, is nearing the end of its eight-weekend run with US$234 million in the bag, the lowest score of the series.
Last weekend's champion, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," slipped to No. 2 with US$33.4 million but remained No. 1 internationally.
The 12-day domestic total for the vampire romance stands at US$237 million, just ahead of the US$236 million that its immediate predecessor, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," had earned in the same period last November.
Another new entrant to exceed modest expectations was "Predators," a revival of a 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger franchise. The new film, starring Adrien Brody, opened at No. 3 in North America with US$25.3 million.
The film earned an estimated US$60.1 million across the United States and Canada during the three days beginning last Friday, said Universal Pictures, which financed and distributed the debut release from former 20th Century Fox animation chief Chris Meledandri's new company, Illumination Entertainment.
As with cartoon powerhouses Pixar and DreamWorks Animation's respective "Toy Story" and "Shrek" movies, a string of lucrative sequels is inevitable.
"This is going to be an absolutely great franchise for Universal and Illumination," said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of distribution.
Carell, star of "The Office," supplies the voice of Gru, whose dastardly scheme to steal the moon is thwarted by three orphaned girls who see him as a father figure. Critics approved of the picture, noting its obvious debt to the Pixar oeuvre.
Coincidentally, Pixar's "Toy Story 3" became the biggest film both of the year and in the history of the Walt Disney Co unit.
The sequel slipped one place to No. 4 with US$22 million, taking its total to US$340.2 million after four weekends. If estimates hold, it will have surpassed the US$339.7 million total of Pixar's 2003 hit "Finding Nemo." In the 2010 rankings, it replaced "Alice in Wonderland" (US$334 million) at the top.
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc's fourth "Shrek" film, on the other hand, is nearing the end of its eight-weekend run with US$234 million in the bag, the lowest score of the series.
Last weekend's champion, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," slipped to No. 2 with US$33.4 million but remained No. 1 internationally.
The 12-day domestic total for the vampire romance stands at US$237 million, just ahead of the US$236 million that its immediate predecessor, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," had earned in the same period last November.
Another new entrant to exceed modest expectations was "Predators," a revival of a 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger franchise. The new film, starring Adrien Brody, opened at No. 3 in North America with US$25.3 million.
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