"Cloudy" retains box office lead with Surrogates in second
Actor Bruce Willis and his wife Emma Heming (L) pose at the premiere of his movie ''Surrogates'' at El Capitan theatre in Hollywood, California September 24, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The family cartoon "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" led the North American box office for a second weekend on Sunday while another slew of newcomers bombed amid crippling reviews and moviegoer apathy.
"Cloudy," a 3D animated feature based on a popular children's book, earned $24.6 million during the three days beginning Friday. The 10-day haul for the Columbia Pictures release stands at $60 million.
The Bruce Willis robot thriller "Surrogates" opened at No. 2 with $15 million. The film's Touchstone Pictures distributor had hoped it would open at No. 1 but "Cloudy" enjoyed a bigger-than-expected hold. The cartoon lost just 19 percent of its audience, compared to a standard drop of about 50 percent.
"Fame," a family-friendly remake of the 1980 musical, opened at No. 3 with $10 million. The low-budget film was released by cash-strapped studio MGM, which had hoped for an opening in the $15 million range.
The Dennis Quaid sci-fi film "Pandorum" did even worse, opening at No. 6 with $4.8 million. Industry observers had expected an opening in the high-single-digits for the Overture Films release.
The sub-par performances come a week after another bunch of newcomers -- "The Informant!," "Love Happens" and "Jennifer's Body" -- all suffered disappointing openings. Early fall is traditionally a quiet time at the box office as the studios quietly clear out their weaklings while laying the groundwork for their awards-season hopefuls.
Columbia Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp. Touchstone Pictures is a unit of Walt Disney Co. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc, which is closely held. Overture is a unit of Liberty Media Corp.
(Editing by Bill Trott)
