Gromit is the quiet but loyal companion to the cheese-loving Wallace in the movie 'Wallace & Gromit:The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'. - CONTRIBUTED
LOS ANGELES, (Reuters):
BRITISH CARTOON characters 'Wallace and Gromit' showed more life at the North American box office than the likes of Cameron Diaz and Al Pacino, as five new wide releases crowded the marketplace.
According to estimates issued yesterday, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, the feature debut of the Plasticine pals, earned US$16.1 million during the three days beginning October 7, in line with the
expectations of its producer, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.
The Jodie Foster thriller Flightplan slipped to number two after two weekends at number one with US$10.8 million, as its total rose to US$60.9 million.
In Her Shoes, starring Diaz and Toni Collette in a melodrama based on the best-selling Jennifer Wiener book, opened at number three with US$10.0 million, at the lower end of distributor 20th Century Fox's expectations.
But at least it did better than Pacino's sports gambling drama Two for the Money, which struck out at number four with US$8.4 million, also at the low end of distributor Universal Pictures' expectations.
The number five slot went to another rookie, The Gospel with US$8.0 million. But the film cost under US$4 million to make, according to its distributor Sony Pictures, and it had played in far fewer theatres than its bigger rivals.
Audiences found the restaurant comedy Waiting ... rather unappetising, with the low-budget film opening at number seven with just US$5.7 million.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, from British production house Aardman Animation, revolves around intrepid inventor Wallace and his faithful mutt Gromit. In the film, Wallace has invented a complex vacuum system to protect vegetables from a rabbit problem in his village.
The movie was aimed at families, but exit polling conducted Saturday afternoon indicated that 75 per cent of viewers were aged over 25, said DreamWorks.
Box office listings
1 - Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit US$16.1 million
2 - Flightplan US $10.8 million
3 -In Her Shoes US$10.0 million
4 - Two for the Money US$8.4 million
5 -The Gospel US$ 8.0 million
6 -Tim Burton's Corpse Bride US$ 6.5 million
7 -Waiting US$ 5.7 million
8 -A History of Violence
US$ 5.1 million
9 -Serenity US$ 4.9 million
10 -Into the Blue US$ 4.8 million.
