Chicken Little tops US box office
Disney`s computer animated film Chicken Little beat off competition from Gulf war drama Jarhead to top the US and Canadian box office over the weekend.
The cartoon fable took in $40.1m between Friday and Sunday, according to studio estimates.
Jarhead, from Oscar-winning UK director Sam Mendes and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx, made $28.8m.
Last week`s leader, gory horror sequel Saw II, dropped to number three after taking $17.2m.
The Legend of Zorro, which reunites Catherine Zeta Jones and Antonio Banderas, dropped two places to number four with takings of $10m, followed by the Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman comedy Prime, with $5.3m.
3D screening
Hollywood watchers were keen to see how audiences would receive Chicken Little.
The film is the first all-computer animated movie Disney had made without the help of its partner Pixar.
The opening weekend take fell short of recent Disney/Pixar hits such as The Incredibles and Finding Nemo, which each made more than $70m.
But the debut was in line with other animations including Fox`s Robots and DreamWorks` Shark Tale, said Exhibitor Relations, compiler of the box-office figures.
Disney and Pixar are currently in talks to renew their deal which is due to come to an end in 2006.
The Chicken Little takings included $2.1m from 84 cinemas showing a 3D version of the film.
BBC.co.uk
|
