Open Season takes top spot

(Source: ( www.boxofficemojo.com)

It was the Weekend of the Kutcher: both movies starring Ashton Kutcher took the top 2 spots last weekend. Sony's Open Season easily took the #1 position, making $5 million more than Disney's live-action The Guardian, which took #2.

Open Season also profited from diminished expectations: in any other year, $23, 624,548 in its first weekend would have been a disappointing take for a family-oriented animated film. However, with 2006's crowded field and the fact that even major-studio offerings like The Ant Bully, The Wild and Monster House are bombing in theatres, $23 million starts to look pretty freakin' good.

Keep in mind however, that Open Season cost $85 million to make, and most reviewers hammered the film's tired "wiscracking animals" concept. Considering it doesn't have a positive buzz to keep it going, it will be interesting to see if Open Season has the "legs" to make back its price tag.

In other animated news, Fox's Everyone's Hero plummeted ten spots to #15, making $1,182,556 in its 3rd week in theatres. Fox isn't releasing how much this flick cost but I doubt they're happy with how it's performing. Then again, the studio probably knew this flick would tank, otherwise they wouldn't have released it during the September doldrums.

Paramount's Barnyard: The Original Party Animals experienced a similar fall, sliding from #14 to #24, making $382,398 in its 9th week. This slide won't cause the same consternation in Paramount boardrooms, since Barnyard has been the only mid-summer release to show a profit.

Then there's Renaissance: Miramax has really decided to make a splash with this flick, releasing it in 5 more theatres this week. That makes an awesome theatre count of seven theatres, 71 less than The Ant Bully, which the W.B. has inexplicably not yet put out of our misery. Be that as it may, Renaissance pulled down $14, 568 in its 2nd week (that's $2,081 per theatre).

This next month will be a quiet time for animated movies, since there aren't any major releases until November 3, when DreamWorks/Aardman's Flushed Away comes to theatres, followed two weeks later by Warner Bros.' Happy Feet.

Here's the complete list:

- 1) Open Season (Sony Pictures Animation): $23,624,548 (NEW)

- 15) Everyone's Hero (Fox): $1,182,556 ($13,307,759 over 3 weeks)

- 24) Barnyard: The Original Party Animals (Par.): $382,898 ($71,269,476 over 9 weeks)

- 29) Monster House (Sony): $229,411 ($72,595,621 over 11 weeks)

- 33) Cars (B.V.): $200,202 ($243,735,463 over 17 weeks)

- 51) The Ant Bully (W.B.): $41,393 ($27,587,155 over 10 weeks)

- 72) Renaissance (Miramax): $14,568 ($31,111 over 2 weeks)

- 110) A Scanner Darkly (W.I.P.): $1,567 ($5,476,327 over 13 weeks)

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