|
"It's
one
of
those
movies
--
pardon
the
pun
--
firing
on
all
cylinders.
When
you
have
Will
Ferrell
and
NASCAR,
you
just
know
you
are
going
to
have
a
crowd
pleaser.
But
this
was
way
beyond
expectations,"
said
Rory
Bruer,
president
of
distribution
for
Sony
Pictures
Entertainment.
Also
entering
the
box
office
race
with
a
surprising
debut
was
the
animated
movie
"Barnyard:
The
Original
Party
Animals,"
placing
second
with
$16
million.
"It
was
at
the
high
end
of
anybody's
expectations.
We're
thrilled,"
said
Don
Harris,
executive
vice
president
for
distribution
at
Paramount
Pictures,
noting
recent
soft
openings
for
the
animated
movies
"Monster
House"
and
"Ant
Bully."
Overall,
box
office
revenue
for
the
top
dozen
films
was
up
17
percent
over
the
same
week
last
year,
said
Paul
Dergarabedian,
president
of
Exhibitor
Relations
Co.
Inc.,
which
tracks
box
office
performance.
"Hollywood's
on a
roll.
Last
year
at
this
time
it
was
all
gloom
and
doom.
Eighteen
of
the
past
20
weekends
have
been
up
over
last
year.
This
is a
terrific
summer,"
Dergarabedian
said.
As
for
"Talladega
Nights,"
he
said:
"It's
reinvigorated
the
box
office.
Everybody
loves
Will
Ferrell.
You
know
you
are
going
to
have
a
good
time
and
NASCAR
is
an
utterly
American
sport."
Disney's
"Pirates
of
the
Caribbean:
Dead
Man's
Chest"
earned
another
$11
million
to
place
third
with
attendance
dropping
46
percent
over
the
previous
week.
"Pirates"
has
earned
$380
million
after
five
weeks
in
North
America
theaters.
"Miami
Vice"
earned
$9.7
million
in
its
second
week
of
release
to
slip
to
No.
4,
"The
Descent"
earned
$8.8
million
for
fifth,
"John
Tucker
Must
Die"
was
sixth
with
$6.05
million
in
its
second
week,
"Monster
House"
was
No.
7
with
$6
million
and
"Ant
Bully"
was
eighth
with
$3.9
million.
Rounding
out
the
Top
10
were
"The
Night
Listener"
and
"You,
Me
and
Dupree,"
placing
ninth
and
10th
with
a
too-close-to-call
$3.6
million
apiece. |
