Moviegoers fed up with dark, brooding comic-book superhero adaptations flocked to the colorful and cheeky Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer over the weekend. The 20th Century Fox sequel raked in an estimated $57 to squeak past its predecessor, which opened with $56 million in July of 2005 and went on to gross $330 million worldwide.
Featuring digital character animation and other visual effects by Weta Digital, The Orphanage, Gentle Giant Studios, The Hatch, Hydraulx, Image Engine Design, Lola VFX and Soho VFX, Rise of the Silver Surfer easily knocked Warner Bros.’ Ocean’s Thirteen out of the top spot. The third heist pic from director Stephen Soderberg and the new Rat Pack dropped to No. 2 in its second week with an estimated $19 million weekend take and a two-week total of around $70 million.
In a summer season filled with big-budget thrill-ride sequels and CG-animated productions, who would have thought that one of the most profitable entries would be a comedy about pregnancy? Universal’s $30 million Knocked Up holds strong at the No. 3 spot, having earned approximately $90 million since opening three weeks ago. Meanwhile, Disney’s blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End got closer to breaking even domestically. The $300 million trilogy topper brought in another $12 million (est.) over the weekend to bring its North American gross to around $273 million. Worldwide receipts to date add up to about $880 million.
Sony Pictures Animation’s CG surfing penguin mockumentary Surf’s Up dropped a notch to fill out the top five with an estimated $9 million weekend draw. Having earned just $34.6 million in two weeks, the family flick proved to be no Shrek the Third, which has made approximately $403 million worldwide so far this summer. Pixar’s Ratatouille will challenge the DreamWorks sequel for toon supremacy when it arrives in theaters next Friday. The latest animated effort from celebrated director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant) has been receiving rave reviews and should be one of the season’s biggest hits.
