Disney (NYSE:
DIS
) and DreamWorks Animation (NYSE:
DWA
) are on the cusp of box office gold, but their films may be too
old to achieve a new milestone. Wreck-It Ralph, the Disney animated
epic that is frequently referred to as "Toy Story for video games,"
has earned
$177 million
domestically since it was released in November.
It earned an additional $1.85 million last weekend -- two
percent more than it earned the weekend before Christmas -- giving
hope to Disney as its theater count begins to dwindle.
On December 21, Wreck-It Ralph was still playing on more than
1,400 screens nationwide. On December 28 that number
dropped to 913
.
During its opening weekend in early November, Wreck-It Ralph
ranked number-one at the box office, earning nearly $50 million
domestically. The film performed well during its second weekend but
fell to second place after going up against the latest James Bond
flick, Skyfall.
Wreck-It Ralph dropped to fourth place in its third weekend when
another fall blockbuster, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2,
was released.
Rise of the Guardians, the DreamWorks Animation thrill-ride that
was expected to pose a significant threat to Twilight and Skyfall,
was largely considered to be a flop at the box office. During its
five-day opening weekend, the film earned a paltry
$32 million
.
That was not enough to ward off the competition. Consequently,
Rise of the Guardians opened in fourth place.
After that, something unusual began to happen. Rise of the
Guardians actually managed to
rise to third place
during its second weekend at the box office. The quirky film rose
to second place during its third and fourth weekends.
Now the film has grossed
more than $94 million
domestically. As of December 28, it was still playing on more than
2,000 screens.
Still, with only $4.8 million earned last weekend, Rise of the
Guardians is not guaranteed to reach $100 million before it ends
its run at the box office. The signs are encouraging though; the
film earned another
$700,000
on Thursday alone.
Wreck-It Ralph, which earned its first $100 million several
weeks ago, is now struggling to hit the $200 million mark that was
achieved by Disney's last animated hit -- Tangled.
Unfortunately, with less than $2 million earned last weekend and
only $330,000 pulled in on Thursday, Wreck-It Ralph may be unable
to wreck its way to a new milestone.
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@LouisBedigianBZ
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