Learn Chinese - "Ratatouille" cooks up lukewarm box office win

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"Ratatouille" cooks up lukewarm box office win

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-07-02 07:43









A scene from the Pixar-produced film 'Ratatouille' in an image courtesy
of Disney. The rodent cartoon raced to the top at the North American box
office on Sunday but its weekend haul of $47.2 million was the lowest
opening for a Pixar-produced release in nine years, according to
estimates issued by distributor Disney. [Reuters]



LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A rat chased millions of moviegoers into
theaters, but the furry star of "Ratatouille" also whipped up one of the
worst openings in the history of Walt Disney Co's cartoon powerhouse
Pixar Animation.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "Ratatouille" about a rat
who aspires to become a gourmet chef sold $47.2 million worth of tickets
during its first three days. It took the No. 1 slot ahead of the new
Bruce Willis movie "Live Free or Die Hard" with $33.2 million.

It was the lowest opening for a Pixar-produced release since the studio's
second effort, "A Bug's Life," launched with $33.3 million in 1998 on its
way to a $163 million total.

By contrast last year's Pixar entry, "Cars," drove off with $60.1 million
-- a figure regarded as something of a disappointment -- and finished
with $244 million.

If "Ratatouille" follows the same pattern as "Cars," it will gross about
$189 million, becoming the third consecutive Pixar release to
underperform its predecessor. But Disney was confident "Ratatouille"
would easily pass $200 million.

Opening weekend predictions among financial analysts for "Ratatouille"
had ranged from $50 million to $65 million. But movie industry polling
had a more realistic target in the low $40 million range, according to
Chuck Viane, Disney's president of domestic theatrical distribution.

TOUGH COMPETITION

Viane said the competition was unprecedented, with "Ratatouille" boxed in
by "Live Free or Die Hard," which got a two-day head start by opening on
Wednesday, and by the Monday night release of the hotly anticipated
"Transformers."

Still, with a little help from the July 4 holiday, he predicted that
"Ratatouille" would be "as successful, if not more successful, than most"
Pixar films.

The most successful of Pixar's seven previous releases was 2003's
"Finding Nemo," with sales of $340 million. It opened to $70.3 million. A
year later, "The Incredibles" kicked off with $70.5 million, but lost
steam and settled at $261 million.

Both "Ratatouille" and "The Incredibles" were directed by Brad Bird. His
latest effort revolves around a Parisian rat named Remy who dreams of
gourmet stardom.

As usual with Pixar releases, critics heaped superlatives on the film.
But it was no secret that Disney faced a marketing challenge with the
movie: A rat in the kitchen raises hygiene concerns for some people.

Disney is still proving to investors that last year's acquisition of
Pixar is worth its $7.4 billion price tag. "Ratatouille" is the first
Pixar film to be released that was still in production when the
Disney-Pixar deal was sealed.

Willis' "Live Free Or Die Hard" has earned $48.2 million in its first
five days. The fourth episode of 20th Century Fox's action series,
predictably skewed towards older males, the News Corp.-owned studio said.
It enjoyed a 20 percent bump from Friday to Saturday, indicating strong
word of mouth; "Ratatouille," by contrast, rose 3 percent.

Last weekend's champion "Evan Almighty," the first big disappointment of
the summer box office, slipped to No. 3 with $15.1 million and a two-week
total of $60.6 million.

With a reported budget of $175 million, the Steve Carell movie was the
most expensive comedy ever made. It was released by Universal Pictures, a
unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal Inc.

The top-10 contained two other new entries. Documentary filmmaker Michael
Moore's "Sicko" opened at No. 9 with $4.5 million, in line with
expectations. The follow-up to Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" played in just
441 theaters vs. 3,940 for "Ratatouille." It was fully financed by the
closely held Weinstein Co. and released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions
Gate Entertainment Corp.

The drama "Evening," starring a slew of heavyweight actresses such as
Vanessa Redgrave and Meryl Streep opened at No. 10 with a modest $3.5
million from 977 theaters. It was released by NBC Universal's art house
arm Focus Features.











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