(Source: bcdb.com)
Dreamworks CG animated contender Over the Hedge opened solidly last weekend, but wasn't the big hit analysts were hoping for.
The movie, which features Bruce Willis, Garry Shandling, Wanda Sykes and Steve Carell as animals trying to co-exist with suburbia, opened on 4,059 screens and made $37.2 million. It whipped 3rd place finisher Mission Impossible III which made $11 million in its 3rd weekend. However, experts at Bloomberg News had expected the family film to make $43.3 million.
In contrast, the PG-13 rated The Da Vinci Code which opened on 3,735 screens made almost double Hedge's take last weekend with $77 million. That film also survived worldwide protests and some savage reviews, making it the 2nd largest debut for a film (behind Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith).
Overall, the studios estimated that the North American box office was down 2.8% from this time last year. This was the second year in a row that sales were down for this weekend.
