Horton Still No. 1

Monday, March 24, 2008
By: Ryan Ball

Earning a solid $25 million over the Easter weekend, 20th Century Fox Animation’s CG adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! is still the No. 1 movie in North America. Attendance dipped an acceptable 44.2% in the second weekend, making for a two-week domestic gross of $86.4 million. The pic is also doing well overseas, with approximately $21.1 million contributing to a worldwide take of around $107.6 million.

Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns from Lions Gate Films placed a close second, earning an estimated $20 million over the weekend. Perry’s films, which have included Diary of an Angry Black Woman, Madea’s Family Reunion, Daddy’s Little Girl and Why Did I get Married?, have all managed to turn tidy profits on modest budgets by catering to African-American moviegoers in a way that Hollywood seems to have trouble replicating.

Shutter, the latest Hollywood remake of a popular Japanese horror movie, earned an estimated $10.7 million for 20th Century Fox. Featuring visual effects by Pixel Magic, the ghost story managed to dege out fellow newcomer Drillbit Taylor for a third-place finish. Drillbit, a comedy vehicle for Owen Wilson, brought in about $10.2 million for Paramount.

Rounding out the top five is Warner Bros.’ CG-laden prehistoric adventure tale 10,000 B.C. Director Roland Emmerich’s latest exercise in spectacle filmmaking raked in another $8.6 million to bring its domestic cume to roughly $76 million. And though it’s slipping down the chart in North America, it’s the reigning champ overseas. Foreign play dates have kicked in approximately $74 million to date, making the film a bona fide International hit with a worldwide gross surpassing $150 million.

Reader Comments

There are no reader comments for this article.