I think we all knew which film would come out on top this past weekend. Sony's (NYSE: SNE) new James Bond adventure, Quantum of Solace, grossed an estimated $70 million at domestic theaters over the last three days according to Boxofficemojo. Excellent showing, Jimbo. As far as I'm concerned, though, I think you have to give the number-two film even more credit.
DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) and its distributor, Viacom (NYSE: VIA), need to be given major kudos for their work on Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. The first Madagascar took in about $193 million in total at the domestic box office back in 2005. It was released during the summertime. The sequel is definitely going to hit $200 million. This past weekend it took in roughly $36 million, and its total stands at approximately $118 million. With the Thanksgiving holiday still to come, I figure there will be plenty of business for DreamWorks Animation's cartoon.
The wild card here is Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Bolt project. That one will do well, judging by the commercials I've seen so far. How much thunder will it steal from the second Madagascar when it is released this Friday? A lot, I think. Still, I'll keep to my $200 million prediction. I believe there will be enough discretionary dollars left for both cartoons.
By the way, High School Musical 3: Senior Year now has $84 million stashed away in its box-office locker. It came in fourth, and although I previously didn't think it would be able to hit $100 million, I now think it will. Again, Thanksgiving is coming up. You can only stand so much turkey before feeling the need to see a musical, right?
Another wild card to mention is Summit Entertainment's vampire movie Twilight. To say this thing has phenomenal buzz is the biggest understatement ever recorded in the history of cinema. The star of the film, Robert Pattinson, has been drawing large numbers of screaming teens at his promotional appearances. Twilight should open huge, and although it might not be competing for the same crowd as Escape 2 Africa and Bolt, it will still exert a significant effect.
So, it was all Bond at the box office, but don't discount those crazy animated animals. I hope the success of both these flicks bodes well for Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI). The publisher has a video game license for the two projects, and I own shares in the publisher, as you can probably tell.
The holiday season at the multiplex is just around the corner. Studios are hoping that the cinema will offer a respite from the blues associated with the recession. We shall soon see...
Disclosure: I own Activision Blizzard, Disney; positions can change at any time.
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