If this weekend’s box office numbers are any indication of things to come, Disney just may have a big hit on its hands with its latest animated talking animal movie. Brother Bear opened in just two theaters in New York and Los Angeles and managed to paw up a whopping $142,500 (est.) per venue, placing it in the top 20. The estimated soft opening cume of $285,000 will be added to this weekend’s wide- release numbers.
Brother Bear should open well this weekend considering the lack of kid-friendly competition, but will have its work cut out for it the following week when New Line’s Elf and Disney’s The Haunted Mansion debut. It will also fight to keep its momentum going when Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes: Back in Action hits theaters on Nov. 14 and Universal’s Cat in the Hat wreaks havoc on Nov. 21.
Dimension’s Scary Movie 3 is the week’s big winner, scaring up a phenomenal $49.7 million (est.) The horror spoof sequel was followed by a real horror remake, New Line’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which hacked its way to No. 2 with around $14.7 million and a two-week cume of more than $51 million. Sony’s inspirational true story Radio comes in at No. 3 with a respectable $14 million, while Fox’s star-studded, $60 million John Grisham adaptation Runaway Jury only managed an estimated $8.4 million in its second week out of the gate. Director Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River (Warner Bros.) rounds out the top five with around $7.6 million in its third week.
