entertainmentdissected

Disney/Pixar’s latest CGI feature went Up, up and away at the weekend box office, grossing $68.1 million in its first three days. (image courtesy of Reuters/Disney/Pixar)

As expected, Disney/Pixar’s inaugural 3-D release, Up, easily attracted the most domestic moviegoers over the weekend, leaving the weekend’s other major new release in box office hell.

Well, not really- but Up did gross more than four times as much as horror pic Drag Me to Hell. Debuting in 3,766 theaters, Up collected a plentiful $68.1 million in the USA and Canada, compared to $15.8 million for Hell, director Sam Raimi’s return to horror.

Among Disney/Pixar’s 10 films, only 2004’s The Incredibles and 2003’s Finding Nemo opened higher (though when adjusting for inflation, 1999’s Toy Story 2 and 2001’s Monsters Inc. also grossed more). Up even outgrossed last year’s smash Wall-E by $5 million- however, Wall-E did not benefit from play at 3D theaters, where ticket prices are notably more expensive. (Wall-E finished its run with $223.8 million).

A more fitting performance comparison would be to rival DreamWorks’ Monsters Vs. Aliens, which earned $59.3 million earlier this year as a 3-D release. Through the weekend, Monsters has grossed $194.4 million; it now ranks as the year’s second-highest-grossing release, after Star Trek (which has pulled in $209.3 million).

Like all of Disney/Pixar’s other projects, Up received high critical marks- based on 35 reviews, it currently has a Metacritic average of 88 out of 100. Wall-E has a Metacritic score of 93.

Alison Lehman confronts demons and more in Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell. The horror feature earned a decent $15.8 million in its debut weekend. (image courtesy of  AP/Universal/Melissa Moseley)

Universal’s Drag Me to Hell did not open shabbily, though it hardly compared to some of the year’s other big horror releases: Warner Bros./New Line’s Friday the 13th reimagining opened to a robust $40.57 million in February (before limping to a $65 million conclusion); Lionsgate’s The Haunting in Connecticutpulled down $23 million in March, ending its run with $55.4 million; another Lionsgate release, My Bloody Valentine 3-D, grossed $21.2 million in January (though benefiting from higher ticket prices at the 1,000-plus theaters showing the 3D version), finishing with $51.5 million; and  upon opening one week prior to Valentine, Universal’s The Unborn grossed $19.8 million,on itsway to a $42.67 million cume.

Raimi’s picture, however, did fare better than Paramount/DreamWorks’ The Uninvited, which grossed $10.3 million in late January, and Universal’s The Last House on the Left, which opened to $14.1 million in March.

Drag Me to Hell may not shatter box office records, but it is managing an impressive feat for a horror flick- high critical marks. Based on 31 reviews, its Metacritic average stands at an impressive 83, with critics praising the film’s mix of horror and humor.

The next major horror release comes via Rob Zombie’s Halloween sequel, H2, opening in August. Zombie’s 2007 reimagining of the classic John Carpenter film performed well, though it grossed 45 percent of its eventual $58.27 million haul in its first three days. Will Halloween fans line up in droves for the sequel? Probably so- but it’s likely that, like its predecessor, it will enjoy little in the way of legs.

After H2, the sixth bloody installment of the Saw franchise hits theaters in October. Ever since Saw II outgrossed the original by some $32 million, the series has seen diminishing returns with each subsequent release. Though while Saw IV dropped 21 percent from Saw III’s $80.2 million gross, Saw V dropped just 10.4 percent from Saw IV’s $63.3 million.

Does that decent hold for the last picture bode well for Saw VI? Jigsaw and Amanda- whether dead or alive- surely hope so.

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