MGM and The Weinstein Co. debuted Arthur and the Invisibles in wide release in North America over the weekend but only got a small piece of the box office action. Budgeted at around $86 million, Europe’s most expensive animated production ever earned an estimated $5.8 million domestically to bring its worldwide gross to approximately $43.2 million. Touchstone’s giant killer crocodile movie Primeval did slightly better, earning around $7 million to edge out Arthur for the No. 8 spot.
Night at the Museum from 20th Century Fox is still getting the lion’s share of the family audience, earning another $21 million over the weekend to bring its four-week domestic total to around $190 million. Still, the vfx-intensive Ben Stiller comedy dropped to No. 2 as Sony/Screen Gems’ urban dance pic, Stomp the Yard, opened at No. 1 with an estimated $26.4 million.
After three weeks at No. 2, Sony’s The Pursuit of Happyness dropped a notch to third place with around $11 million, elevating its five-week cume to approximately $138 million. DreamWorks’ Dreamgirls and Paramount’s Freedom Writers round out the top five with estimated takes of $10.2 million and $8.7 million, respectively.
Movies made specifically for kids and families are having a tough time at the box office in the wake of Warner Bros.’ Happy Feet, which is still in theaters and has made an estimated $188 million in North America to date. Paramount’s $85 million CG-laden adaptation of E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web has yet to break even in domestic receipts since opening five weeks ago and Lionsgate’s CG-animated feature Happily N’Ever After has only managed around $12 million, slipping from No. 6 to No. 11 in its second week.
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