‘Tron’ Opens Atop Box Office With $43.6 Million in Receipts

Ticket sales fell for a sixth straight weekend, making it uncertain whether Hollywood will exceed last year’s record $10.6 billion in the U.S. and Canada. This year’s holiday films are up against a 2009 slate that included “Avatar,” the top-grossing film of all time, and “The Blind Side,” a surprise hit that generated $256 million in domestic sales, according to researcher Box Office Mojo. “We might actually barely exceed the $10.6 (billion), but it’s built on the back of higher ticket prices,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Hollywood.com’s box-office unit, said in an interview. “It will be a shallow victory.” “Tron: Legacy” continues the story of programmer Kevin Flynn, who has been trapped in a video game for 20 years. – First the good news. “TRON: Legacy” raked in some thoroughly respectable numbers opening weekend, pulling in $43.6 million. The film was nominated for six Golden Globe awards, including best film drama and best actor in a drama for Wahlberg. “The Tourist,” a thriller starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, was fifth with $8.7 million.

In addition, two low-budget films moved from limited to nationwide release with strong performances. The CGI-assisted, live-action romp “Yogi Bear” debuted in second place, although it lagged far behind “Tron.” The contemporary take on the beloved kids cartoon, which features voice-over performances from Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake as the mischievous partners in picnic-basket-snatching Yogi and Boo Boo, nabbed $16.7 million.

Legacy did $10.3 million of its business on just 234 IMAX screens. The film, which features Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis as rival ballerinas, expanded to 950 theaters from 18. Having the movie in 3D and in IMAX 3D would certainly help boost the grosses, but no one was sure as to by how much. Audiences shelled out $12.4 million to catch the latest installment in Hollywood’s adaptation of the classic C.S. On July 11, 1982, TRON opened to $4.8 million — light years behind the $13 million opening of E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial . The Darren Aronofsky film, pirouetting into the No. 7 spot, jumped to 959 theaters this weekend with an impressive $8.3 million haul. (Consider that “Black Swan,” which cost just $13 million, already has a cumulative gross of $15.7 million in three weekends of limited release. In good news for Disney, most moviegoers liked the film, giving it an average grade of B+, and they were willing to pay extra to see it in the best quality: 82% of ticket sales revenue came from theaters playing “Tron: Legacy” in 3-D and 24% was for digital or large-format Imax.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply