Open Season Opening Weekend

It looks as though "Open Season" brought in around $23 million this weekend, and took the number #1 spot at the box office.



Here is what Box Office Mojo had to say about the opening:

The influx of computer-animated movies in 2006 has lowered the bar for the format. Whereas before, Open Season's $23 million opening would be considered weak compared to the format's pre-2006 average of $40 million—Shark Tale consumed $47.6 million on the same weekend in 2004—it now seems solid after the recent low returns of Everyone's Hero and The Ant Bully among others. Sony Pictures Animation's next feature is the penguin mockumentary Surf's Up on June 8.



It really is quite amazing to think about the fact that "Shark Tale" brought in $47.6 million on its opening weekend, despite being beat up on by critics. I really thought that "Open Season" would also open in at least the $30 million, if not $40 million, range, but it didn't come close. If other films that have opened at this range are any indication, "Open Season" will probably wind up grossing between $70-$85 million at the box office. Nothing to scoff at, but certainly not up to the level of CGI films in recent years.

The true test is going to be when an established franchise, such as "Shrek the Third," or a film by like Pixar's next film "Ratatouille" is released. It will be very interesting to see if films such as those can hit the mark set by CGI films to this point, in terms of box office revenue.