Will Ferrell scored the gold medal at the North American box office with his latest comedy "Blades of Glory" which skated to a top spot bow. Disney settled for a silver for its new animated kids offering "Meet the Robinsons" which debuted impressively as well.
Each film had room to connect with its target audience without eating into the other’s business. Holdovers saw mixed results with some seeing moderate declines while others tumbled.
Grossing an estimated $33M in its first weekend, the Paramount release "Blades of Glory" easily led the frame during the final weekend of a robust March box office. The PG-13 film averaged a stellar $9,786 from 3,372 locations. Studio research indicated that the audience was split evenly between males and females and that 74% of the crowd was under 35. Blades was produced for just over $60M and was the fifth film of the first quarter to open above $30M – a new industry record.
Opening in second with a strong showing of its own was "Meet the Robinsons" with an estimated $25.1M from 3,413 locations for a $7,341 average. The CG toon was Disney’s third consecutive bow north of $20M following "Bridge to Terabithia" and "Wild Hogs." Robinsons carries a G rating and played to a family audience.
After leading the charts last weekend with the top two films, Warner Bros dropped to third and fourth, respectively. with "300" and "TMNT." The Spartan epic dropped 44% to an estimated $11.2M and pushed its remarkable cume to $179.7M. The Ninja Turtles pic saw a direct hit from rival toon "Meet the Robinsons" and tumbled 62% to an estimated $9.2M giving the crime fighters $38.4M in ten days.
The motorcycle comedy "Wild Hogs" followed in fifth with an estimated $8.4M, off 39%, for a total of $135.4M for Buena Vista. Paramount’s Mark Wahlberg actioner "Shooter" dropped 45% to an estimated $8M giving the sniper flick $27.2M after ten days. Sandra Bullock‘s suspense flick "Premonition" scared up an estimated $5.1M, down 47%, putting Sony’s cume at $39.3M.
Three sophomores rounded out the top ten and lifted their mediocre cumes into the teens. The New Line sci-fi film "The Last Mimzy" crumbled 60% to an estimated $4M for a sum of $16.2M. Taking in an estimated $3.9M was the horror sequel "The Hills Have Eyes 2" which fell 60% as well and has grossed $15.8M to date. Adam Sandler‘s latest money-losing stab at drama "Reign Over Me" collected an estimated $3.7M, down 50%, for a $13.3M total.
The top ten films grossed an estimated $111.5M which was down 12% from last year when "Ice Age: The Meltdown" opened at number one with $68M; but up 19% from 2005 when "Sin City" debuted on top with $29.1M.
Author: Gitesh Pandya, www.BoxOfficeGuru.com
