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The Disneyland Report > Disney News > "The Incredibles" has larger opening than "Finding Nemo" Disney NewsPixar's "The Incredibles" has larger opening than "Finding Nemo" By Bob Tourtellotte LOS ANGELES - Get lost, Nemo -- Pixar Animation's new film "The Incredibles" has topped weekend box office charts with $70.7 million (38 million pounds) in north American ticket sales to break records for Pixar partner Disney and beat their previous smash hit "Finding Nemo". Reigning champion, haunted-house thriller "The Grudge" dropped to No. 3 at $13.5 million, but with a total of $89.6 million in just three weeks, the low-budget movie will scare up sizeable profits for its backers at Columbia Pictures. Oscar hopeful, "Ray", starring Jamie Foxx as the late soul singer Ray Charles, also performed well and held the No. 2 spot with $13.8 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. "The Incredibles," a digital animated comedy about a family of superheroes who come out of retirement to save the world, was widely expected to wrest control of No. 1, but it surpassed most expectations as both adults and kids turned out in droves for the well-reviewed film, Disney officials said. "This is one of those movies where the public sentiment and the critical sentiment is coming together," said Chuck Viane, Disney's film distribution chief. The three-day weekend total was the best ever for a film released by Disney, and Saturday's $29.4 million was the highest single-day tally for Disney. "Incredibles" is the sixth release from Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney and all have been hits. Pixar makes them; Disney distributes them. The most recent Pixar/Disney film was 2003's "Finding Nemo" about a lost fish, and it debuted in May to a three-day weekend total of $70.3 million, according to figures from box office tracking service Exhibitor Relations. EXPECTED STRENGTH Wall Street had been anxiously anticipating a strong opening, and most industry watchers expected "Incredibles" to debut in the upper $60 millon dollar range. On Friday, investors pushed Pixar's share price to a record high of $84.94, but Harris Nesbitt financial analyst Jeff Logsdon noted that historically Pixar shares trade up before a film release, then dip later. "It was a good number, but that was pretty much expected," Logsdon said. "They had a built-in audience and a great marketing campaign." The opening will certainly bolster Pixar chief Steve Jobs as he looks for a new partner to assume distribution duties for Pixar films after its contract with Disney ends next year. While "Incredibles" was strong, it could not top the best three-day debut ever for November, which belongs to Warner Bros' "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" at $90.3 million at U.S. and Canadian (domestic) box offices in 2001. Moreover, total sales for the top 12 films fell 5 percent to $136.1 million from $143.7 million last year when No. 1 was "The Matrix: Revolutions", according to Exhibitor Relations. Elsewhere, low-budget thriller "Saw" fell from third to fourth with $11.4 million, and debuting "Alfie," a remake of the 1966 film of the same name, took the No. 5 position with a $6.5 million. Paramount, a unit of Viacom, had hoped "Alfie" would figure prominently at box offices. Return to Disney News. |
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