'Cars 2' races to first with $68 million

By Sarah Sluis

Pixar's animated sequel Cars 2 revved up the U.S. box office to the tune of $68 million. Toy Story 3 opened to $100+ million last year, but Lightning McQueen and Mater don't have quite the following of Buzz & Woody. Overseas, the movie has already earned $42.9 million while in release in about 25% of foreign markets. The first film's small town America focus alienated foreign viewers, leading to just over $200 million abroad, one of Pixar's worst international showings. The second film, with its 'round-the-world Grand Prix and spy premise, goes above and beyond to appeal to a global audience. Just 40% of U.S. audiences saw the film in 3D, a sign of the continued softening in the 3D market. The question now is if 3D will continue to decline, or if it will hold on to current audiences. When 3D was first introduced, there was a surge of interest. Of course some people who tried 3D and didn't like it or think it was worth the higher ticket price will drop out. But will everyone else opt out of 3D?

Bad Teacher had a strong $31 million opening weekend. The comedy bested the opening of Bridesmaids, but it feels more like a movie that will die out instead of propelling forward on word-of- mouth. According to Rotten Tomatoes, 69% of audiences liked it compared to 44% of critics. That puts the movie behind Bridesmaids' 90% critics/84% audience approval rating. Speaking of which, the Kristen Wiig-led comedy fell just 24% to $5.3 million this weekend. Now in its seventh weekend, the comedy has accomplished the rare feat of earning six times opening weekend.

Second weekends can be brutal for tentpoles, and Green Lantern was no exception. The green superhero film dove 65% to $18.3 million. That means the $200 million movie fell short of the $100 million mark, never a good move for a film that put all its chips on a big opening.

The Tree of Life showed strength in 12th place this weekend. Receipts went up 16% to $1.3 million as the movie doubled the number of locations in release. Illegal immigrant drama A Better Life made a respectable debut of $15,000 per screen at four locations. If the Summit release can reach beyond arthouse attendees and capture the attention of Hispanic moviegoers, who see movies frequently, the drama could take off, but it may be tough getting people to see a downbeat movie that's been described as a cousin of The Bicycle Thief.

On Wednesday, Transformers: Dark of the Moon will get a head start on grabbing audiences. On Friday, Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts pair up for Larry Crowne, and tweens will probably freak out for a fantasy friend vacation made just for them in Monte Carlo.