Dr. Seuss ‘The Lorax’ $70+M: Year’s Largest

Dr. Seuss ‘The Lorax’ $70+M: Year’s Largest

UPDATED… SATURDAY PM… Abbreviated Weekend Outcomes: Certainly enormous pent-up demand for a correct children’s classic, an ‘A’ CinemaScore, plus an overheated box office converged for a monster hit. Rival studios have Universal’s The Lorax lunging past $70M having a shot at $73M and perhaps even $75M. It’s the greatest grossing film ever from a Dr Seuss book, also because the largest opener of 2012, the 4th largest March opener, the 8th biggest animated PG film, and also the 5th largest animated 3D film. The $70M-budget toon from Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Hop) also may be the 8th biggest Universal opener of all time. And don't forget: the following animated kid film isn’t until April 27th. Yowza! Warner Bros also had mega-success with its low-budget discovered footage R-rated opener Project X which hit $20+M. Best Image Oscar winner The Artist from The Weinstein Co creeps into the Top rated 10 for its 15th week in release because of 790 additional locationss. General weekend biz is up for the 9th weekend in a row in 2012: +28% more than final year. But will next weekend demand me to autopsy report John Carter?

1. The Lorax (Universal) NEW [3,729 Theaters]
Friday $17.4M, Saturday $32M, Weekend $73M

2. Project X (Warner Bros) NEW [3,055 Theaters]
Friday $8.1M, Saturday $7.9M, Weekend $20.5M

3. Act of Valor (Relativity) Week two [3,093 Theaters]
Friday $3.8M, Saturday $6.4M, Weekend $14.2M, Cume $45.6M

4. Safe House (Universal) Week four [2,553 Theaters]
Friday $1.9M, Saturday $3.6M, Weekend $7.7M, Cume $108.8M

five. Tyler Perry’s Superior Deeds (Lionsgate) Week two [2,132 Theaters]
Friday $1.8M, Saturday $3.4M, Weekend $7.0M, Cume $26.0M

6. Journey two (Warner Bros) Week 4 [3,060 Theaters]
Friday $1.3M, Saturday $3.4M, Weekend $7.0M, Cume $85.5M

7. The Vow (Screen Gems/Sony) Week four [2,826 Theaters]
Friday $1.8M, Saturday $2.8M, Weekend $6.2M, Cume $111.5M

8. This Implies War (Fox) Week three [2,342 Theaters]
Friday $1.6M, Saturday $2.8M, Weekend $6.0M, Cume $41.8M

9. Ghost Rider two (Sony) Week three [2,487 Theaters[]
Friday $1.1M, Saturday $2.3M, Weekend $5.0M, Cume $45M

10. The Artist (Weinstein) Week 15 [1,756 theaters]
Friday $938K, Saturday $1.8M, Weekend $4.0M, Cume $37.2M

Proving that you could make millions of dollars by throwing a bunch of vivid colors and the name "Dr. Seuss" at families, Universal will be on best in the box workplace this weekend with Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, the new animated spin on the classic environmentalist book. Regardless of some questionable tie-ins with corporate sponsors like SUV producers and some unfavorable evaluations (including our own), the movie made $17.four million on Friday, and is on track for a $60 million weekend. If those numbers do not sound like they add up, bear in thoughts that family-friendly films do crazy small business through matinees on Saturday and Sunday-- and if you have been towards the films this weekend, you've likely noticed plenty of compact children running toward the orange creature using a giant mustache who's been relentlessly marketed toward them for months.

Based on THR, The Lorax will boast the most effective opening weekend for an animated film this side of Cars 2-- even the earlier effort from Universal and Illumination Entertainment, Despicable Me, pulled just $56 million on its way to becoming a giant hit.