Chicken Little Holds Onto #1 Spot

[Yoda]

November 11 - 13

 

1.) Chicken Little $32,026,000

 

2.) Zathura $14,000,000

 

3.) Derailed $12,800,000

 

4.) Get Rich or Dye Tryin' $12,500,000

 

5.) Jarhead $12,264,000

 

Despite a handful of new films hitting the box office, Disney's animated hit Chicken Little remained the top choice for moviegoers this weekend spending its second consecutive weekend at number one. Targeting specific audience segments and displaying respectable debuts were the frame's three new pics - the sci-fi adventure Zathura, the Jennifer Aniston thriller Derailed, and the 50 Cent drama Get Rich or Die Tryin'. The period piece Pride & Prejudice also made a stellar bow in the top ten despite opening in limited release. For the sixth straight weekend, ticket sales were down compared to last year. But the marketplace did show impressive breadth this weekend as five films grossed over $10M a piece and for the first time all year, five films in the top ten generated averages of more than $5,000 each.

[knightni]

From friends I know who saw CL, they say it was too much of a downer for a Disney movie.

 

Disney will miss Pixar.

[nitetrain8601]

Disney will miss Pixar.

 

I think that will end up being the case as well. I saw Derailed this weekend. Started slow, but I wasn't dissapointed at all. I ended up loving it.

[Buehrle>Wood]

From friends I know who saw CL, they say it was too much of a downer for a Disney movie.

 

Disney will miss Pixar.

I recently heard they might kiss and make up...

[knightni]

I recently heard they might kiss and make up...

You mean ki$$ and make up...right?

[kapkomet]

I know a couple of people in that industry and it's mighty interesting how things are going right now on that whole deal.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I know a couple of people in that industry and it's mighty interesting how things are going right now on that whole deal.

To say the least. Still sounds like they are pretty far apart though. IIRC, Pixar wants some of the aftermarket licensing revenues that pretty much went 100% to The Mouse under the first deal.

 

My gut feeling is that Cars is not going to continue the trend of Pixar record breakers when it comes out. I think a big part of that is that Dreamworks and Warner have both pretty much caught up technology-wise, and any new offering is going to have to be head and shoulders above the field to stand out. I also think from a visual imagination standpoint Cars is going to be a letdown. Between Nick Park's (the Wallace and Gomit guy) Chevron ads a few years back, to the Putt Putt and TonkaTown video and computer games and such, the anthromorphized car thing has already kinda been done to death. Just my opinion, and I'll be one of teh people taking his family on the first weekend like I always do I'm sure.

 

Chicken Little was quite good, and technically it was as polished as any of the Pixar offerings. But the story was nowhere near as strong, very much a one-trick pony of an idea, so they had to rely on the strength of individual vignettes.

 

We somehow have two of the only 84 theaters nationwide that are showing it in the new Disney 3-D format, and that was pretty amazing. Any lack of technical progress in the computer animation is made up for by the new 3-D technology if you are fortunate enough to be in striking distance of on of the 3-D equipped theaters.