Eurocorp’s largely animated feature film Arthur and the Invisibles benefited from a U.K. box office boycott, according to Daily Variety. The pic from writer/director/producer Luc Besson took in $2.3 million from just 391 screens over the weekend after top exhibition chains yanked 20th Century Fox’s Night at the Museum in protest of the studio’s short DVD release window.
Distributed in the U.K. by Momentum Pictures, Arthur debuted in the No. 3 spot, just barely beating Oscar contender Notes on a Scandal, which earned $2.2 million in its debut outside of North America. The drama starring Brit thespians Cate Blanchett and Dame Judi Dench opened at No. 4, while the DreamWorks musical Dreamgirls captured the top spot with $2.6 million. Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ Blood Diamond continues to do well in its second week, hanging at No. 2 with its worldwide take crossing the $100 million mark.
With a budget of around $86 million, Arthur is Europe’s most expensive CG-animated flick to date. Though MGM and the Weinstein Co. only managed to get $12.8 million out if its U.S. release, the pic has done fairly well overseas. Currently at $80 million worldwide, it should at least break even on its production costs before it goes to home video.
Leave a Reply