Simpsons Movie Takes #1

The Simpsons Movie nailed the top spot at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo, earning an estimated $74 million.

It was the highest-earning debut for a movie adapted from a television adaptation, unseating the previous incumbent, the live action Mission: Impossible.

The flick's success was based on luring current and former Simpsons fans into theatres, and it succeeded quite well in doing so. Although the television show is no longer among the Nielson Top Ten, it is still a steady draw. Considering that an average of 8.6 million people watched The Simpsons during its 18th season, that means that more people went to see the movie this weekend than tuned into a first-run episode last spring.

"I think we did a great job courting the family audience and catching fantastic reviews," said Chris Aronson, Fox's senior vice president and general sales manager, who claimed the studio expected the flick to open around the $40 million mark. "It's a multi-generational appeal picture. You have people who started watching 18 years ago. They may not watch the show anymore, but The Simpsons are beloved."

The Simpsons Movie rocked an impressive 88% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which meant that 114 out of 129 critics who reviewed the flick liked it.

However, The Simpsons Movie's success didn't help the television show's numbers. The Simpsons ended up 4th in its time slot last Sunday with a 3.1 rating and a 6% share. However, it's still popular among the crucial 18-49 demographic, placing 2nd with a 2.27% share. The Simpson's ratings have declined in the last couple of seasons, amidst allegations that the long-running series has lost its edge.

Moving down the list, Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille slid down two spots to #7 on the box office chart. It earned another $7.4 million, to receive a grand total of $179.1 million for its first 5 weeks in theatres. Although it has now surpassed the lowest possible projection of its profits, Ratatouille now has the weakest draw of any Pixar movie to date.

Shrek the Third sits at #19, making $634,000 over last weekend. That puts the DreamWorks Animation movie at the $319 million mark and makes it the second most successful movie of this summer so far (the live-action Spider-Man 3 takes top honours). Considering that this movie pulled down a 42% Rotten Rating on Rotten Tomatoes (105 out of 181 reviewers panned this flick), that’s either very impressive or highly depressing.

Ye Compleat List:

1) The Simpsons Movie (Fox): $74,036,787 (NEW)

7) Ratatouille (Buena Vista): $7,455,594 ($179,904,396 over 5 weeks)

19) Shrek the Third (DreamWorks Animation): $634,797 ($319,835,929 over 11 weeks)

27) Meet the Robinsons (Buena Vista): $169,082 ($97,375,823 over 18 weeks)

29) Surf’s Up (Sony): $133,956 ($57,614,376 over 8 weeks)

58) Paprika (Sony Pictures Classics): $12,812 ($748,012 over 10 weeks)

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