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- Jan 3, 2001
'Cars' gets box-office checkered flag
Disney-Pixar animated film tops weekend with nearly $63 million; 'Break-Up' second, followed by 'X-Men' and 'Omen.' June 11, 2006: 5:02 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Cars," the latest animated feature from newly merged Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation Studios, zoomed past "The Break-Up," starring real-life celebrity couple Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, to finish first in North American theaters this weekend.
"Cars," the cinematic tale of a talking hot rod named Lightning McQueen, brought in $62.8 million during its opening weekend, box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. said Sunday.
"The Break-Up," a surprise hit romantic comedy that actor Vaughn helped write, slipped into the No. 2 spot with $20.5 million in its second weekend.
The Friday-to-Sunday gross for "Cars" was the third-biggest opening for a film from Disney-Pixar, which has had a string of hits that have wheeled in more than $3.2 billion worldwide.
"Cars," featuring the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Helen Hunt and racing icon Richard Petty, is the seventh film from the team and its first collaboration since Disney acquired Pixar in January for $7.4 billion.
Chuck Viane, Disney's president of distribution, expects the film to cross the $100 million mark sometime next weekend.
"I think we're going to have legs," he said. Viane added that international distribution has been delayed until the completion of the World Cup soccer championship on July 9.
The G-rated feature, in which up-and-coming race car Lightning McQueen learns valuable life lessons during a forced pit stop in a sleepy town, is directed by John Lasseter, whose "Toy Story 2" opened at $57.4 million.
The "Cars" opening weekend lagged the $70.5 million posted by "The Incredibles," which chronicled the adventures of a superhero family, and the $70.3 million take from the fish tale "Finding Nemo" -- the highest-grossing Disney-Pixar film ever, having reeled in more than $865 million worldwide.
X-Men makes it to $200M "X-Men: The Last Stand," the fantasy film starring Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry, came in at No. 3 with $15.6 million and has so far brought in $201.7 million -- making it the first film of the year to break the $200 million mark.
News Corp's 20th Century Fox released "The Omen" on the date 6-6-06 and set a record for the most money collected by a movie with a Tuesday debut.
The horror remake is about a boy named Damien Thorn, who is a spawn of the devil and branded with the number 666 -- which Christianity refers to as the mark of the devil. The movie scared up opening weekend receipts of $15.5 million.
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.'s "Over the Hedge" fell from third place to fifth.
The animal cartoon, which brought in $10.3 million over the weekend and $130.3 million since its debut, edged out "The Da Vinci Code." That thriller had the second-biggest worldwide box office debut and has brought in $642 million globally, according to a spokesman for Sony Corp. (Research), whose Columbia Pictures unit distributed the film.
On the independent front, director Robert Altman's "A Prairie Home Companion," brought in $4.7 million from 760 theaters to land for a seventh-place weekend finish.
Disney-Pixar animated film tops weekend with nearly $63 million; 'Break-Up' second, followed by 'X-Men' and 'Omen.' June 11, 2006: 5:02 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Cars," the latest animated feature from newly merged Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation Studios, zoomed past "The Break-Up," starring real-life celebrity couple Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, to finish first in North American theaters this weekend.
"Cars," the cinematic tale of a talking hot rod named Lightning McQueen, brought in $62.8 million during its opening weekend, box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. said Sunday.
"The Break-Up," a surprise hit romantic comedy that actor Vaughn helped write, slipped into the No. 2 spot with $20.5 million in its second weekend.
The Friday-to-Sunday gross for "Cars" was the third-biggest opening for a film from Disney-Pixar, which has had a string of hits that have wheeled in more than $3.2 billion worldwide.
"Cars," featuring the voices of Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Helen Hunt and racing icon Richard Petty, is the seventh film from the team and its first collaboration since Disney acquired Pixar in January for $7.4 billion.
Chuck Viane, Disney's president of distribution, expects the film to cross the $100 million mark sometime next weekend.
"I think we're going to have legs," he said. Viane added that international distribution has been delayed until the completion of the World Cup soccer championship on July 9.
The G-rated feature, in which up-and-coming race car Lightning McQueen learns valuable life lessons during a forced pit stop in a sleepy town, is directed by John Lasseter, whose "Toy Story 2" opened at $57.4 million.
The "Cars" opening weekend lagged the $70.5 million posted by "The Incredibles," which chronicled the adventures of a superhero family, and the $70.3 million take from the fish tale "Finding Nemo" -- the highest-grossing Disney-Pixar film ever, having reeled in more than $865 million worldwide.
X-Men makes it to $200M "X-Men: The Last Stand," the fantasy film starring Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry, came in at No. 3 with $15.6 million and has so far brought in $201.7 million -- making it the first film of the year to break the $200 million mark.
News Corp's 20th Century Fox released "The Omen" on the date 6-6-06 and set a record for the most money collected by a movie with a Tuesday debut.
The horror remake is about a boy named Damien Thorn, who is a spawn of the devil and branded with the number 666 -- which Christianity refers to as the mark of the devil. The movie scared up opening weekend receipts of $15.5 million.
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.'s "Over the Hedge" fell from third place to fifth.
The animal cartoon, which brought in $10.3 million over the weekend and $130.3 million since its debut, edged out "The Da Vinci Code." That thriller had the second-biggest worldwide box office debut and has brought in $642 million globally, according to a spokesman for Sony Corp. (Research), whose Columbia Pictures unit distributed the film.
On the independent front, director Robert Altman's "A Prairie Home Companion," brought in $4.7 million from 760 theaters to land for a seventh-place weekend finish.
