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Box Office Breakdown: Toy Story Still Has Game

Toy Story 3

The number “11” appears to be a good one for .

Although it’s been almost 11 years since we had fun with Woody and Buzz Lightyear, those classic characters were apparently anything but forgotten. This weekend’s long-anticipated debut of rang up $110 million, giving Pixar its 11th chart topper in a row. The sequel also surpassed all previous Pixar debuts (including The Incredibles’ $70.5 million from 2004) and became the second best animated opener of all time (right behind Shrek the Third‘s $121.6 million from 2007).

, on the other hand, was unfortunately cursed from the start. The comic book adaptation - starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox - fired up a underwhelming $5.4 million. That performance was even more dismal than the debut of Megan Fox’s last film, Jennifer’s Body, which opened to $6.9 million in September 2009.

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Box Office Breakdown: A-Team’s Face Kicked by Karate Kid’s Foot

Jaden Smith in The Karate Kid

The battle of the ‘80s remakes was won by an actor born in 1998.

Despite featuring no actual karate and a Smith named Jaden, had no problem kicking up Will Smith-esque dollars this weekend. (I’m sure it had something to do with that Justin Bieber song.).  Sony’s remake of the 1984 classic surpassed early projections by rallying to a $55.7 million finish. The film’s debut means the 11-year-old star has already managed to outperform most of his father’s films. (I Am Legend opened to $77.2 million in 2007; Hancock premiered to $62.6 million in 2008.)

Meanwhile, Fox’s reboot of cranked out what could be considered a B-grade performance. The movie, which cost over $95 million to make (compared to Karate‘s $40 million), only rang up $25.7 million in its first three days. That’s barely above the figure Liam Neeson’s Taken earned in 2009 ($24.7 million) and nowhere near the debut Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel had with Valentine’s Day ($56.2 million).

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Box Office Breakdown: Audiences Get to the Greek…and Shrek

Get Him to the Greek

Ashton Kutcher may have more Twitter followers than Diddy and Russell Brand combined - but that achievement wasn’t reflected at the box office this weekend.

Despite pirating the first 13 minutes of Killers, Kutcher was unable to generate enough interest to earn more than third place. The film - Katherine Heigl’s first since leaving Grey’s Anatomy - only rounded up a mere $15.8 million. (In other words, Ashton got about $3 from each of his Tweeps.)

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Box Office Breakdown: Theatergoers Choose Shrek Over Sex

Sex and the City 2

Shrek - not cosmopolitans - was what fans were buying this weekend.

Despite competition from two heavily-promoted features, an aging green ogre was able to hang on to his title for two weeks in a row. raised an additional $57 million during the Memorial Day frame to bring its domestic total to $146.8 million.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. proved that people can get tired of sex. Sex and the City 2 - which featured the return of Aidan Shaw (John Corbett) - couldn’t get past the bad reviews to even match the first film’s numbers. (Sex and the City opened to $56.8 million in May 2008.) The lovely ladies also couldn’t overpower Jake Gyllenhaal’s four-day haul. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time wound up snagging second place with a $37.8 million debut.

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Box Office Breakdown: MacGruber IS a Bomb

MacGruber

Disappointment can come in all shapes and box office sizes.

may have earned nearly three times as much than its nearest competitor, but it wasn’t exactly a winner for Paramount or Dreamworks. The film, which grossed $70.8 million in ticket sales, become the first sequel in the Shrek franchise to open below the $100 million mark (and that’s with the help of higher 3-D prices). The comedy did, though, place fourth on the all-time animated debuts list behind Shrek the Third ($121.6 million), Shrek 2 ($108 million)  and The Simpsons Movie ($74 million).

Meanwhile, it appears will last just as long in theaters as he does in Will Forte’s sketches. Although the character is (supposedly) known for diffusing bombs, he actually helped deliver one this weekend. The latest Saturday Night Live-based comedy - also starring Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe - generated a mere $4 million this weekend. While that number seems (understandably) dismal, there is one positive thing to note: the film only cost approximately $10 million to make.

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Sequel News: Romy and Michele, Planet of the Apes and More


Planet of the Apes: The apes will rise again in 2011 when Fox delivers a Planet of the Apes prequel. The movie - currently titled Rise of the Apes - will have photo-realistic apes incorporated into the cautionary tale. The story, written by The Relic‘s Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa, will explain how genetic engineering experimentation lead to the apes’ development. The Rupert Wyatt-directed film will be set in present-day San Francisco.

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Box Office Breakdown: Iron Man Fights Off Robin Hood

Robin Hood

‘s excellent aim couldn’t keep Robert Downey Jr. off target.

Despite increased competition in its second week of release, remained firm at the box office. Paramount’s sequel generated another $52 million between Friday-Sunday and vaulted over the $200 million mark domestically.

Meanwhile, ‘s arrow was sharp enough for a $36 million bounty, but a bit too dull for a first place finish. The film did, though, earn approximately $74 million in foreign dollars. That topped the $43.1 million overseas debut for 2000’s Gladiator - another Crowe/Ridley Scott production.

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Box Office Breakdown: Iron Man 2 Soars High Above the Competition

Iron Man 2

Only one movie earned over $10 million over this weekend…and only movie scored over $125 million as well.

Iron Man 2 - with help from Mickey Rourke’s powerful weapons - whipped up $128.1 million over the past three days, giving Paramount its biggest open in history. The sequel, which was produced for approximately $170 million, easily improved upon Iron Man‘s $98.6 million premiere in 2008 and nabbed the fifth-largest debut of all time. (The Dark Knight still tops that leader board with its $158.4 million outing.)

Focus Features’ also made news of its own despite coming nowhere near Iron Man 2‘s numbers. The documentary, which was only released in 534 theaters, delivered $2.2 million and a ninth-place finish over the Mother’s Day weekend.

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In Theaters This Weekend: May 7, 2010


Here are a few selections in theaters this weekend:

  • Iron Man 2 (PG-13): starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle (directed by Jon Favreau)
  • Babies* (PG): (directed by Thomas Balmès)
  • Badmaash Company* (NR): starring Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Meiyang Chang (directed by Parmeet Sethi)
  • Casino Jack and the United States of Money* (R): (directed by Alex Gibney)
  • Happiness Runs* (NR): starring Mark L. Young, Hanna Hall, Jesse Plemons (directed by Adam Sherman)
  • Mother and Child* (R): starring Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington (directed by Rodrigo Garcia)

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Robert Downey Jr Has Iron Head

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man has an Iron Man head at his house.

The actor - who plays the superhero and his alter-ego Tony Stark in upcoming sequel - took the metal mask from the set as a memento but insists his home isn’t too geeky.

Downey - who lives with his film producer wife Susan Levin - said, “I have an Iron Man head at home and various other bits downstairs but my home isn’t a shrine to Iron Man. But I think it’s cool.”

The 45-year-old star can’t wait for fans to see the movie and admits he is immensely proud to play the much-loved comic book character. He added, “It’s mind-blowing to me because I’d always felt like I wanted to - and could - do something like this. I have probably taken Iron Man 2 more seriously than any other movie I’ve ever done, which is appropriately ridiculous for Hollywood.”

Downey has previously revealed he asked film bosses to let him take one of the superhero’s full suits home: “The producers keep telling me that they’re going to give me a suit with all the bells and whistles but I still don’t have it. I don’t know, maybe I should get it in my contract. It would be great to have one at home - a talking point.”


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