All hail Pixar! All mock Jonah Hex (yikes). Here’s a breakdown of the top five at the box office.
1. Toy Story 3: $109 million ($109 million total)
Better known as “The Movie That Saved Hollywood This Summer.” The $109 million opening is the biggest in the history of Pixar, besting the $70 million that Finding Nemo started with seven years ago. And while naysayers will point to the expensive 3D ticket prices for goosing the number, remember that Up was in IMAX 3D last summer and opened with “only” $68 million. Clearly audiences responded to Woody and Buzz in a way that they haven’t responded to Pixar characters before. Now comes the interesting part: How high will Toy Story 3 go?
2. The Karate Kid: $29 million ($106.2 million total)
With Toy Story 3 gobbling up the dollars of families around the country, the prevailing wisdom assumed that The Karate Kid would take a big tumble in its second frame. And, lo and behold, it sorta did; the Jaden Smith Nepotism Project dropped 47 percent from its lofty opening heights. The good news, however, is that with $106 million in the bank — plus foreign territories that have yet to experience the film waiting in the wings — The Karate Kid could win up being a $400 million worldwide grosser.
3. The A-Team: $13.7 million ($49.7 million total)
While many have written off The A-Team as yet another summer bomb, consider that its second weekend drop of 46 percent was better than the seemingly more “well liked” The Karate Kid. OK, so maybe the plan didn’t come together for Twentieth Century Fox, but if The A-Team winds up with north of $200 million worldwide — plus a guaranteed lifetime of cable runs on FX — isn’t that a success?
4. Get Him to the Greek: $6.7 million ($47.8 million total)
Fun with comparisons! Get Him to the Greek is running about $3 million ahead of Forgetting Sarah Marshall after three weeks and actually experienced a better hold in its third frame than its predecessor. Ah, the benefit from being the only male-driven studio comedy in theaters.
5. Shrek Forever After: $5.5 million ($225.9 million total)
Not unpredictably, Shrek Forever After saw its worst decline — and the worst in the top-ten — when faced with Toy Story 3. The 65 percent tumble all but closes up shop on the Dreamworks Animation franchise send-off, which should end its run at a relatively disappointing $240 million. But at least it wasn’t Jonah Hex. Opening in eighth (!) place, the Josh Brolin-led film grossed just above $5 million. Welcome to the latest Hollywood cautionary tale.
