The box office blahs finally lifted over the weekend as Warner Bros.’ I Am Legend enjoyed an opening the likes of which we haven’t seen since the summer blockbuster season. The Will Smith vehicle scared up approximately $76.5 million domestically, pushing New Line’s vfx-laden fantasy flick The Golden Compass out of the top spot. Twentieth Century Fox’s Alvin and the Chipmunks also opened bigger than expected, earning an estimated $45 million to occupy the No. 2 slot.
Sony Pictures Imageworks handled most of the visual effects work in I Am Legend, going to great lengths to create a post-apocalyptic New York City devoid of people but alive with lions and other liberated zoo animals, not to mention nasty humanoid mutants that only come out at night. The film is one of 15 pic short-listed for this year’s Academy Award for best effects, and has a good shot at landing a nomination.
Despite boasting the always impressive character animation talents of Rhythm & Hues, Alvin and the Chipmunks didn’t make Oscar’s vfx list, but is making out well at the box office. Directed by Tim Hill (Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, Muppets from Space), the movie surprised a lot of people by opening considerably better than Golden Compass, a film that cost twice as much to make.
The compass needle took an abrupt turn south as the Philip Pullman adaptation lost about 65% of its audience in its second weekend, slipping to No. 3 on the North American chart. Foreign receipts have been a bit better, contributing to a worldwide gross in the ballpark of $91.9 million for a pic that reportedly rang up a price tag exceeding $200 million. Compass should get a decent holiday bump this weekend before New Line recoups the better part of its investment in home video and television sales.
Disney’s Enchanted dropped two notches to No. 4 in its fourth weekend with an estimated $6 million, while Miramax/Paramount Vantage’s No Country for Old Men continues to creep up the chart. The likely Oscar contender from the brothers Cohen picked up another $2.5 million to win the No. 5 spot occupied last week by Paramount’s Beowulf.
