Disney's 'Alice' Successfully Defends Top Spot

Viacom's (VIA) She's Out of My League pulled in less than $10 million, making it third. I was surprised that one didn't do a lot better in its opening. The marketing campaign behind it seemed to effectively communicate what the R-rated comedy was about, and I figured the Seth-Rogen crowd would have flocked to it in droves. Guess I was wrong.

News Corp.'s (NWS) Avatar is still in the top ten. It came in seventh place, and its domestic total now stands at $730 million. Have you heard about the possible plans to re-release the film with some extra footage later in the year? My opinion: not necessary. News Corp. should just focus on releasing the DVD and the rest of its 2010 movie slate. Why invest money in a re-release campaign? Sure, it probably wouldn't cost much, but Avatar has done its job, it's made its money, and it's time to move on.

Those who were looking to Alice to boost Disney's stock may be disappointed. As I write this, not much is going on with the shares. They're down something like 0.5%.

But the movie has grossed over $400 million worldwide. I'm hoping Alice can do over $300 million domestically, but I'm not sure that's in the cards. If Alice had made over $80 million in its second weekend, I would have been more confident in a $300 million target, but there's really no way of knowing how strong the movie will be over the coming weeks. Disney can be proud of its achievement, but it can't rest on it whatsoever. If the Mouse wants its stock to move higher in the coming months, it will have to make sure that the studio's summer pipeline, which includes Iron Man 2 and Toy Story 3, are not just blockbusters; they have to be the biggest blockbusters they can possibly be. Only then will Wall Street take notice.

Disclosure: I own Disney, GE; positions can change without notice.