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Bee Movie Captures FirstDreamWorks Animation Film Tops Box Office, Making $26 million
DreamWorks Animation's Bee Movie, starring Jerry Seinfeld, rebounds to take the top spot at the box office, making $26 million.
In a reversal of last week's numbers, DreamWorks Animation's Bee Movie and the live-action American Gangster swapped positions, with the Jerry Seinfeld animated vehicle capturing the top spot at the box office. "We don't often see a movie start out in the No. 2 position, then move up to No. 1," said Paul Dergarabedian, the president of box-office tracking company Media By Numbers LLC. "It just shows how strong the word of mouth is on this movie and that families are really enjoying it." Only two other movies have pulled off that trick this millennium: 2003's live-action Elf, which starred Will Farrell, and the summer of 2005 live-action comedy Wedding Crashers. "This is terrific playing time for this movie," said DreamWorks marketing head Anne Globe. "(Bee Movie) is resonating beautifully with our core family audience and also playing to a broad group of moviegoers." Bee Movie Decline Steep Compared to Other Animated Films Released in November Bee Movie's numbers declined by only 32% from its debut, very good for most movies in their second week, but a steeper drop when compared to other family-oriented animated films. Last year's Flushed Away (which ultimately failed to make its $145 million studio costs back in theatres) dropped by 12% in its 2nd weekend, Disney's Chicken Little slid 21% back in 2005, while Pixar's 2004 film The Incredibles dropped by 29%. Bee Movie has now made $72.2 million in total theatrical receipts, a good return after 10 days in theatres but slightly less than half of its $150 million price tag. Analysts are split on this flick's prospects: the best estimates claim a $175 million total box office for Bee Movie (slightly better than most DreamWorks Animation movies that don't have Shrek in the title), while the worst call for a $120 million domestic return. The next animated film to hit theatres will be the PG-rated Beowulf (coming to theatres November 16th), quickly followed by the live-action/animated hybrid Enchanted which bows on November 21st. Fun Fact: A fair number of celebrities voice roles in Bee Movie. Oprah Winfrey voiced the role of Judge Bumbleden, Ray Liotta and musician/actor Sting played themselves in the movie, and CNN interviewer Larry King voiced a version of himself called Larry Bee King. Also, former Seinfeld cast mate Michael Richards had a cameo in Bee Movie as Bud Ditchwater. Comedian Eddie Izzard and director/DreamWorks senior executive Steven Spielberg played pivotal roles in the Bee Movie live-action trailers that promoted the film. Actors Uma Thurman and Robert Duvall were at one point attached to Bee Movie, but were forced to bow out for various reasons.
The copyright of the article Bee Movie Captures First in Animated Films is owned by Dominic von Riedemann. Permission to republish Bee Movie Captures First in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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