Disney/Pixar's latest slice of magic coupled with Angelina Jolie in glorious kick-ass action mode created the figurative perfect storm as the top 12 pictures combined for $179m to beat the same weekend last year by 22%.
In the fifth consecutive year-on-year climb, Wall-E led the way with an excellent $62.5m estimated three-day launch as audiences of all ages flocked to Andrew Stanton's animated tale of a lonely droid who helps repopulate a desolate planet Earth.
This was the third biggest launch for a Pixar release behind The Incredibles' $70.5m and Finding Nemo's $70.3m. Ratatouille opened exactly a year ago on a whisker over $47m.
But Pixar wasn't the sole story of the weekend as Universal's graphic novel adaptation Wanted arrived in a hail of bullets in second place on $51.1m to provide the perfect complement to its number one international launch.
Timur Bekmambetov, creator of the phenomenally successful Night Watch franchise, makes his English-language debut on the picture. Jolie stars alongside James McAvoy in the Scotsman's first major action role as a bored office worker who learns he is the scion of a secret society of assassins. Jolie portrays one of the assassins who initiates the new recruit. Morgan Freeman also stars.
Warner Bros' Steve Carell comedy Get Smart, the number one picture last weekend, slipped two places to third on $20m for $77.3m and is looking good to cross $100m by the end of next weekend.
The prospects for Paramount's comedy The Love Guru starring Mike Myers, however, aren't so good: after two weekends the picture ranks sixth on $25.3m and will struggle to reach $40m at this rate.
Stablemates Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull are keeping the smiles on the faces of Paramount executives though. The former ranks fourth on $179.3m after four weekends while Indy has amassed $299.9m and ranks seventh after six. Iron Man, a huge Paramount success story this summer, dropped into 11th place and has reached $309.2m after nine weeks.
Next weekend is July The Fourth Weekend in the US when Sony will unleash its action tentpole Hancock starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron.
Estimated Top 10 North America Jun 27-29, 2008
Film (Dist)/Int'l dist/Est wkd gross/Est total to date
1 (-) Wall-E (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $62.5m -
2 (-) Wanted (Universal) UPI $51.1m -
3 (1) Get Smart (Warner Bros) WBPI $20m $77.3m
4 (3) Kung Fu Panda (Paramount) PPI $11.7m $179.3m
5 (2) The Incredible Hulk (Universal) UPI $9.2m $115.8m
6 (4) The Love Guru (Paramount) PPI $5.4m $25.3m
7 (6) Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (Paramount)
PPI $5m $299.9m
8 (5) The Happening (Fox) Fox Int'l $3.9m $59.1m
9 (8) Sex And The City (New Line/Warner Bros) NLI $3.8m $140.1m
10 (7) You Don't Mess With The Zohan (Sony) SPRI $3.2m $91.2m
In the fifth consecutive year-on-year climb, Wall-E led the way with an excellent $62.5m estimated three-day launch as audiences of all ages flocked to Andrew Stanton's animated tale of a lonely droid who helps repopulate a desolate planet Earth.
This was the third biggest launch for a Pixar release behind The Incredibles' $70.5m and Finding Nemo's $70.3m. Ratatouille opened exactly a year ago on a whisker over $47m.
But Pixar wasn't the sole story of the weekend as Universal's graphic novel adaptation Wanted arrived in a hail of bullets in second place on $51.1m to provide the perfect complement to its number one international launch.
Timur Bekmambetov, creator of the phenomenally successful Night Watch franchise, makes his English-language debut on the picture. Jolie stars alongside James McAvoy in the Scotsman's first major action role as a bored office worker who learns he is the scion of a secret society of assassins. Jolie portrays one of the assassins who initiates the new recruit. Morgan Freeman also stars.
Warner Bros' Steve Carell comedy Get Smart, the number one picture last weekend, slipped two places to third on $20m for $77.3m and is looking good to cross $100m by the end of next weekend.
The prospects for Paramount's comedy The Love Guru starring Mike Myers, however, aren't so good: after two weekends the picture ranks sixth on $25.3m and will struggle to reach $40m at this rate.
Stablemates Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull are keeping the smiles on the faces of Paramount executives though. The former ranks fourth on $179.3m after four weekends while Indy has amassed $299.9m and ranks seventh after six. Iron Man, a huge Paramount success story this summer, dropped into 11th place and has reached $309.2m after nine weeks.
Next weekend is July The Fourth Weekend in the US when Sony will unleash its action tentpole Hancock starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron.
Estimated Top 10 North America Jun 27-29, 2008
Film (Dist)/Int'l dist/Est wkd gross/Est total to date
1 (-) Wall-E (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $62.5m -
2 (-) Wanted (Universal) UPI $51.1m -
3 (1) Get Smart (Warner Bros) WBPI $20m $77.3m
4 (3) Kung Fu Panda (Paramount) PPI $11.7m $179.3m
5 (2) The Incredible Hulk (Universal) UPI $9.2m $115.8m
6 (4) The Love Guru (Paramount) PPI $5.4m $25.3m
7 (6) Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (Paramount)
PPI $5m $299.9m
8 (5) The Happening (Fox) Fox Int'l $3.9m $59.1m
9 (8) Sex And The City (New Line/Warner Bros) NLI $3.8m $140.1m
10 (7) You Don't Mess With The Zohan (Sony) SPRI $3.2m $91.2m
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