Based on estimates, Disney/Pixar’s latest film, Ratatouille, took in an impressive $16.6 million from 3,940 theaters to place ahead of FOX’s Live Free Or Die Hard, which in its third day, took in $10.6 million from 3,408 theaters.
Live Free or Die Hard now stands at $25.63 million through three days of release. Now that we have the Friday estimates, I’m going to go ahead and predict a weekend take of $34.1 million for this latest installment in the Die Hard franchise.
Disney/Pixar’s most recent animated film, last year’s Cars, opened with $19.71 million, and went on to gross $60.12 million through the weekend.
Ratatouille will certainly not hit that mark, but expect a solid opening weekend of around $50.5 million.
Other new films making their way on the charts were both limited releases. First up is Michael Moore’s latest documentary, Sicko (from distributor Lionsgate) which takes a look at the U.S. healthcare system. The doc landed in ninth place, taking in an estimated $1.33 million from 441 theaters. Through eight days of limited release, the film is at $1.44 million.
And lastly, in 10th place was Focus Pictures’ Evening, which took in $1.18 million from 977 theaters.
Elsewhere on the charts, last week’s #1 film Evan Almighty dropped to third place with $5.09 million from 3,636 theaters. It’s total stands at $50.63 million through eight days of release. This is well behind the pace of Bruce Almighty, which took in $11.05 million in its second Friday, and had raked in a much more impressive $111.12 million up to that point.
The thriller/horror picture 1408 dropped from second to fourth place with an estimated $3.70 million from 2,733 theaters. Its total stands at $33.48 million through eight days of release.
And in fifth place was Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which took in $2.66 million from 3,424 theaters. Through 15 days of release, the film as accumulated $108.47 million in domestic receipts. To compare, Fantastic Four grossed $3.69 million and had raked up $113.98 million up to this point back in 2005.
Check back tomorrow for a complete look at the top 10 weekend box office.
Source: Box Office Mojo (Photos courtesy Disney and FOX)
