Universal's animated family film The Lorax soared past expectations as it earned an estimated $70.7 million, the sixth highest debut ever for an animated feature, and by far the best opening of 2012 so far.  The "found footage" party movie Project X came in second with an estimated $20.8 million.  Overall the total of the top 12 films was up a whopping 27% from the same weekend in 2011 as Hollywood's winning streak continued in a very big way.

 

Produced by Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me) and Universal for a modest $70 million, The Lorax more or less maintained the ecologically-aware message of the Dr. Seuss original while larding in the kinds of slightly off-kilter verbal jokes (for older viewers) and kinetic slapstick humor (for the kids) that audiences have come to expect in these contemporary animated features that target the family audience.  Evidently public criticism of The Lorax's pro-environment, anti-corporate themes had little effect on the film's box office, which was 35-40% above expectations, and marks the best debut yet for a Dr. Seuss adaptation.  Families with kids under 13 made up a massive 68% of the opening weekend audience, and the PG-rated film jumped 80% from Friday to Saturday, further confirmation of the movie's appeal to families.  The Lorax earned a solid "A" CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences, which should translate into some serious "legs" at the box office.

 

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): March 2 - 4, 2012
	Film	Weekend Gross	Screens	Avg./ Screen	Total Gross	Wk#
1	Dr. Seuss' The Lorax	$70,700,000	3,729	$18,960	$70,700,000	1
2	Project X	$20,775,000	3,055	$6,800	$20,775,000	1
3	Act of Valor	$13,700,000	3,053	$4,487	$45,239,000	2
4	Safe House	$7,200,000	2,553	$2,820	$108,200,000	4
5	Tyler Perry's Good Deeds	$7,000,000	2,132	$3,283	$25,745,000	2
6	Journey 2: The Mysterious Island	$6,925,000	3,060	$2,263	$85,611,000	4
7	The Vow	$6,100,000	2,826	$2,159	$111,712,000	4
8	This Means War	$5,625,000	2,342	$2,402	$41,464,000	3
9	Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance	$4,700,000	2,487	$1,890	$44,881,000	3
10	The Artist	$3,900,000	1,756	$2,221	$37,088,000	15

 

The teen party movie Project X was made for just $12 million and features a cast of young no-name stars who plan and execute the "Mother" of all teen parties, which they have the foresight to capture on video tape.  Project X is the latest example of the Animal House ethos of producer Todd Phillips (who directed Old School, and The Hangover movies), and his expertise in appealing to young male viewers in not in question. The opening weekend crowd for Project X was 58% male, and 67% under 25.  The film's mediocre "B" CinemaScore could be an impediment to future success, but it should be noted that the men in the audience gave the movie a "B+", while females gave it just a "C+".  Another warning sign is the fact that ticket sales went down 6% from Friday to Saturday, but there is no doubt that this film will be a moneymaker.

 

In addition to the two strong new opening films, the holdovers continued to do well.  Last week's leader Act of Valor dropped just 44% and finished in third place.  The fictional adventure starring real Navy Seals has now earned $45.2 million against a cost of just $12 million.  The Denzel Washington/Ryan Reynolds' espionage thriller Safe House slipped just 34.1% and finished in fourth place as it sailed past the $100 million mark in its fourth week of release.  Safe House still trails the romantic film The Vow, which remains (for now) the top-grossing film of 2012 with a total of $111.7 million.

 

Tyler Perry's Good Deeds, which fell 55% in its second frame, was the only film in the top 10 to drop more than 50%--and its performance is actually typical for a Perry film--his dedicated audience typically makes its way to the theaters right away.

 

Sony's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance slowed its descent during its third frame, dropping just 47.8% as it earned $4.7 million and brought its domestic total to $44.8 million, a disappointment, but still more than the Oscar-winning "Best Picture" The Artist, which finished in tenth place and has brought in just $41.5 million so far.

 

Family films were definitely hurt by The Lorax's success. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island suffered its biggest drop yet (48.3%), while the Studio Ghibli film The Secret World of Arrietty dropped out the top ten as its revenue dropped 66.6%, but the movie has earned a Ghibli North American record $16.7 million so far.

 

Check back next week to find out what happens to Tinseltown's winning streak when Disney's ERB adaptation John Carter, this quarter's most expensive cinematic gamble (see "Will 'John Carter' Be the Biggest Write-Off of All Time") opens.