Mr. Fox proved he’s fantastic, even as Roland Emmerich’s most recent disaster movie was anything but a wipeout at this weekend’s box office.
Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox opened in only four theaters, and grossed a total of $260,000, but it’s per theater average of $65,000 was through the roof. That bodes well for the pic’s wide opening later this month, as do rave reviews from most of the nation’s movie critics.
Topping the box office in sheer numbers was 2012, which grossed $65 million in its opening frame to run away with the weekend crown. The film grossed an estimated $160 million in overseas markets, bringing its worldwide weekend total to $225 million.
Holding on in second place was Disney’s A Christmas Carol, which performed well after what was seen as a soft first weekend. The 3-D motion-capture animated feature grossed more than $22 million in its second weekend of release, bringing it s total gross to about $63 million.
Also making a big splash in a limited release this weekend was Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. The film took in just over $6 million on a mere 174 screens, for an average of $35,000 per screen and good enough for fourth place behind The Men Who Stare At Goats, which earned $6.2 million.
The animated film Astro Boy remains in release and grossed $1.6 million this weekend, for a domestic total of $17.9 million.
