Wreck It Ralph wrecks the competition, while Flight soars to number two.
1. Wreck-It-Ralph/Disney Wknd/$ 49.1 Total/$ 49.1
2. Flight/Paramount Wknd/$ 25.0 Total/$ 25.0
3. Argo/Warners Wknd/$ 10.2 Total/$ 75.9
4. The Man With The Iron Fists Wknd/$ 8.2 Total/$ 8.2
5. Taken 2/Fox Wknd/$ 6.0 Total/$ 125.7
6. Cloud Atlas/Warners Wknd/$ 5.3 Total/$ 18.3
7. Hotel Transylvania/Sony Wknd/$ 4.5 Total/$ 137.6
8. Paranormal Activity 4/Parmount Wknd/$ 4.3 Total/$ 49.6
9. Here Comes The Boom/Sony Wknd/$ 3.6 Total/$ 35.6
10. Silent Hill 2/ORF Wknd/$ 3.3 Total/$ 13.9
WHAT? NO TRON? YES, I’M MOCKING THEM.
Wreck-It-Ralph opens at number one and this is a clear attempt by Disney to make their own Toy Story (that was Pixar, though the Pixar braintrust did contribute to this) and just like Toy Story it seems clear that certain games where just not down with being part of the movie—and just like Toy Story whomever made that decision is getting yelled at Monday morning when the box office results come in. Seriously, who turns down king-of-merchandising Disney, now and then? Super Mario Brothers may not think they need the money, but they’re about to meet some shareholders who disagree and if there are sequels look for the other holdouts (I’m looking at you, Mortal Kombat) to suddenly become amiable like Mattel did with Barbie did for Toy Story 2 & 3 (when they turned down the first one). Not that there aren’t tons of other cameos. Seriously, when Paperboy, Dig-Dug and Root Beer Tapper are showing up you know they’re not kidding around. I have to wonder how many of these references the kids got because in the theater two little girls made their dad leave during the climax of the film because they were tired of it while a 30-year-old I know has seen it twice this weekend. But that’s also a commentary on the run time and two hours is a lot for kids and as enjoyable as it is (that’s called “burying the lead”) the movie does bog down towards the end (the entire building a car sequence and learning to drive should have been cut). I’m always willing to accept a longer running time for more character development, but it’s honestly not needed here. Especially when Sarah Silverman voices that character. Even playing a character who’s supposed to be bratty, she still manages to go above and beyond the call of duty and almost undoes the sympathy the story generates for her.
