UPDATE 2 (6/26/11): Box Office Mojo has released the latest numbers.
UPDATE 1 (6/25/11): Adjusted the numbers based on new reports.
Box Office Mojo is reporting that Cars 2 grossed an estimated $25.7 million on opening day, and is taking in an estimated $68 million for the entire weekend. This puts it in the range of previous Pixar releases. Most of the studio’s films have opened to an opening weekend gross between $50 million and $70 million. Only Toy Story 3 has been able to exceed that, taking in $110 million in its premiere weekend. Read on for more on the predicted weekend box office.
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The estimates for the weekend are:
- Friday: $25.7 million
- Saturday: $23.3 million
- Sunday: $19 million
Disney had actually pegged the film to open to around a $50-60 million weekend, so the besting of expectations by so much likely has both Disney and Pixar excited. Sure, the studios would not have minded to see the film reach Toy Story 3-heights, but that film was on a whole different level, being part of a film franchise juggernaut. However, the Pixar success streak officially continues, as this will be the twelfth consecutive film from the studio to open at the number one slot. Considering that is the total amount of feature films Pixar has released, that statistic is even more mind-boggling.
Compared to the original Cars, the sequel is set to have a bigger weekend than its predecessor. The first film had an opening day of just under $20 million and an opening weekend gross of about $60 million. Comparing the sequel’s debut to other Pixar releases, Cars 2 is right in line with Up, which hit just over $68 million for opening weekend.
It will be interesting to see how the film performs next weekend (which happens to be Fourth of July weekend) with the next Transformers movie hitting theaters mid-week. In the past, Pixar’s films have enjoyed busy holiday weekends, with families packing theaters.
Final numbers for the weekend box office are due tomorrow!
Source: Box Office Mojo
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