Men in Black II thoroughly trounced the competition and pulled in an estimated $90 million over the long 5-day holiday weekend. In spite of generally bad reviews from the critics, the special effects-laden sequel became another comic book-based hit for 2002. The success that MIB II enjoyed is the kind that sparks even more sequels, so don't think for a minute that you've seen the last of Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones. Even without stacks of old Malibu comics lying around, pop culture retailers can take advantage of MIB II with trading cards from Inkworks (see 'Best in Shows -- 2002') and toys from Hasbro (see 'Licensing is Back at Hasbro'). But with box office competition heating up as we reach the midpoint of the summer, retailers should act quickly if they want to take advantage of these mid-summer blockbusters.
Powerpuff Girls Fizzle
Many experts were predicting that the feature length animated film based on the popular Cartoon Network series The Powerpuff Girls would earn over $20 million during the July Fourth weekend, but the film just barely managed to earn over $6 million in spite of heavy promotion on the Cartoon Network, where the campy and violent series continues to be a ratings winner. The box office failures suffered by the Cartoon Network's The Powerpuff Girls and Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold are a far cry from the success enjoyed last year by the Cartoon Network's Jimmy Neutron and Nickelodeon's Rugrats in Paris. What happened? Well for one thing The Powerpuff Girls faced stiff competition from Disney's Lilo & Stitch, which became the first traditionally animated film to pass the $100 million mark since Disney's Tarzan. Theatrical-only animation releases like The Ice Age and Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron have performed very well this year, providing strong competition for TV-based titles which only a year ago faced far less formidable competition from big budget theatrical animated features.