'Up' high at the box office

By Sarah Sluis

Up, Pixar's entry in the '09 summer box office, bested last year's Wall-E to gross $68.2 million, slightly more than the robot film's $63 million opening. While detractors feared the elderly main character would turn off younger viewers, 31% of seats were filled by kids 2-11, and it appears the old-young pairing piqued the interest of a wider range of viewers. Disney reported the film did well even in past-bedtime showings, which would usually have a significant drop-off.

While Up didn't use 3D for any gimmicky effects (like Monsters vs. Aliens), audiences overwhelmingly paid the extra $2 or so to see the film with glasses. Its 1,534 3D venues grossed $24,000 per screen, sell-out levels, and 2.2 times that of 2D screens. That meant that while only 40% of the screens were 3D, over half the gross came from these venues, another checkmark in favor of 3D's profitability.

The other debut of the week, Drag Me To Hell, earned $16.6 million, slightly over Terminator Salvation's second-week total of $16.1 million. The horror film played best on Friday, with slight drops on Saturday and Sunday. Because of the film's positive reviews, the studio hopes it won't disappear as fast as most horror titles, and will drum up business from strong word-of-mouth.

The 62% drop in Terminator Salvation may not be as bad for the franchise as it seems. Most films dropped at least 50% this week, since last week's Memorial Day holiday added business not just on Monday, but throughout the weekend. Wolverine dropped 69% in its second weekend (although the X-Men film had a stronger opening weekend), so the re-launch is merely a more middling entry among films with both costs and grosses above $100 million (at $90 million, Terminator will likely cross that mark this week).

Star Trek dropped two spots to number five, earning $12.8 million and crossing the $200 million mark, making it the most successful release among May tentpoles. At numbers nine and ten, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Obsessed earned $1.9 million and $665,000, respectively. After five and six weeks at the box office, the films have quietly earned $50 and $67 million, sure signs of profitability for the relatively low-budget films.

On the specialty front, The Brothers Bloom expanded and almost cracked the top ten, coming in with $652,000 at is 148 locations. Departures made $8,000 per screen at its nine locations, and inspiring documentary Pressure Cooker, which follows low-income students trying to win scholarships, guided by a tough culinary instructor, also made $8,000 per screen at its single location.

Next weekend, Up will be joined by light-hearted fare across the board. Night-of-abandon comedy The Hangover will battle with prehistoric comedy-adventure Land of the Lost. A smaller-scale release of romantic comedy My Life in Ruins, which stars Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame, will round out Friday's offerings.