‘Alice’ muscles out host of fresh openers

Universal’s “Green Zone” joined the ranks of Iraq war-themed pics earning disappointing B.O. results, grossing an understated $14.5 million at 3,003 playdates.

Meanwhile, Disney’s 3D fantasy phenom “Alice in Wonderland” continued to claim heads with an estimated $62 million at 3,728 playdates, muscling out a group of wide openers led by “Green Zone” and Paramount’s laffer “She’s Out of My League,” which bowed with $9.6 million at 2,956 locations.

“Alice” slipped a reasonable 47% in its soph sesh after a record-setting launch last weekend of $116.3 million domestically.

Overseas, the Tim Burton-directed pic took in an estimated $76 million at 6,621 screens in 48 territories, repping 65% of the international market. Pic’s worldwide cume stands at $430 million.

The frame’s other Stateside wide releases, including Summit’s Robert Pattison-starrer “Remember Me” with $8.1 million at 3,356 engagements, fell victim to “Alice’s” chopping block.

Fox Searchlight’s “Our Family Wedding,” starring America Ferrera and Forest Whitaker, posted an estimated $7.6 million at 1,605 locations.

With this weekend’s performance, “Alice” became Disney’s highest-grossing film domestically for a first-quarter release, as well as one of the Mouse House’s top 20 films of all time.

“In the world of blockbusters, when you don’t drop 50%, it means one thing: positive word of mouth,” said Disney prexy of domestic distribution Chuck Viane. “These kind of numbers prove that everybody’s coming.”

The film’s 3D component also helped boost domestic performance at 2,063 3D-equipped locations and an additional 188 Imax screens. Imax reported $7.9 million, down 34% from last weekend, for a total take of $25.6 million. Per screen average for the large-screen exhib was $42,000, accounting for 13% of “Alice’s” overall weekend take on approximately 2% of total screens.

Imax film division prexy-chairman Greg Foster credited 3D as a major proponent to the frame’s 49% uptick over the same weekend last year.

“There are people coming back to the multiplex because of these films and the 3D component,” Foster said.

The frame’s fresh openers failed to hold auds’ interest. “Green Zone,” co-financed by Relativity Media, scored a B- CinemaScore rating, which could continue to affect the the film’s performance.

Despite U marketing the film as a political actioner, “Green Zone,” about a rogue U.S. Army officer (Damon) who embarks on a personal mission to solve the mystery of missing weapons of mass destruction, couldn’t break free of the military associations that have handicapped other similar pics.

“Zone” reunites helmer Paul Greengrass and Damon, who worked together on the last two “Bourne” installments. U was hoping to capitalize on the franchise’s track record — “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” grossed $702.4 million worldwide.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. “Alice in Wonderland,” $62 million.

2. “Green Zone,” $14.5 million.

3. “She’s Out of My League,” $9.6 million.

4. “Remember Me,” $8.3 million.

5. “Shutter Island,” $8.1 million.

6. “Our Family Wedding,” $7.6 million.

7. “Avatar,” $6.6 million.

8. “Brooklyn’s Finest,” $4.3 million.

9. “Cop Out,” $4.2 million.

10. “The Crazies,” $3.7 million.

[Credit: Variety / Hollywood.com]

In THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between Edward and Jacob — knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE opens on June 30, 2010.

12-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) could’ve been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother’s (Taraji P. Henson) latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying — and the feeling is mutual — but cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre’s feelings make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. In the land of kung fu, Dre knows only a little karate, and Cheng puts “the karate kid” on the floor with ease. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), who is secretly a master of kung fu. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.

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IN THEATERS FRIDAY, MAY 7TH, 2010

Disney pic earns $210.3 million at worldwide b.o.

Disney’s 3D “Alice in Wonderland” went on a worldwide adventure with an estimated $210.3 million, including domestic earnings of $116.3 million at 3,728 playdates. The Tim Burton pic became the highest-grossing first-quarter opener and scored the all-time highest three-day, nonholiday bow for a nonsequel film in the U.S.

Overseas, “Alice” earned $94 million at 5,600 screens in some 40 territories, repping about 60% of the international market.

The 3D fantasy screened at 2,063 3D-equipped locations domestically with an additional 188 Imax locations, totalling approximately 65% of the film’s total domestic screens.

Playing second fiddle to “Alice” was the frame’s other wide release, Overture’s “Brooklyn’s Finest,” exceeding expectations with an estimated $13.5 million at 1,936 screens. Pic walks its beat just a week after the studio launched its horror remake “The Crazies,” which grossed $7 million at 2,479 engagements in its soph sesh.

Overture benefited from strategic counterprogramming, launching the R-rated “Brooklyn’s Finest” opposite the family-friendly “Alice.”

Tracking for “Finest” was strongest in urban areas, including New York, Philadelphia and Boston, with 86% of auds non-Caucasian and 60% over 30. Pic stars Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke and Richard Gere as corrupt NYPD police officers.

Counterprogramming aside, studios had been braced for an “Alice”-dominated weekend; the frame saw a robust 64% uptick compared with the same weekend last year.

The much-anticipated 3D title had been under recent scrutiny over Disney’s announcement to shorten the film’s theatrical-to-DVD window from a traditional 16-week run to just over 12 weeks. The studio plans to implement the shorter run on two major tentpoles a year, starting with “Alice.”

Major overseas exhibs even went so far as to threaten a boycott of the film but eventually reached an agreement with the Mouse House.

Still, Disney didn’t lose any of its muchness.

“Alice” turned in a massive $41 million on Friday then saw an 8% uptick on Saturday with $44.3 million.

Pic marks Burton’s highest opener, easily surpassing his previous record-holder, “Planet of the Apes,” which opened with $68.5 million in 2001. “Alice,” toplining frequent Burton collaborator Johnny Depp, also beat the launch of

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (which earned $56.1 million) as the duo’s previous top opening.

“Put Tim, Johnny and Mia (Wasikowska) together, shake it up, and you’ve got one magic potion,” Disney prexy of domestic distribution Chuck Viane said. “Those who saw the tracking and suggested it was higher than normal would have never put it near this.”

The film’s 3D component boosted the overall performance in a big way.

While Disney said total 3D figures were not yet available, Imax alone reported an estimated worldwide take of $14.9 million. Domestic earnings totaled $11.9 million, beating 20th Century Fox’s “Avatar” with $9.5 million for the exhib’s all-time highest opening.

Imax film division prexy-chairman Greg Foster credited “Avatar” as a main reason for 3D success, saying, “People went and saw ‘Avatar,’ had a fantastic experience and are coming back for more.”

“Alice” begins an onslaught of 3D product entering the market in the coming months, with Paramount’s toon “How to Train Your Dragon” set to launch March 26, followed by Warner Bros.’ “Clash of the Titans” on April 2. “Avatar” is still playing at 661 3D engagements out of a total 2,163.

[Credit: Variety / Hollywood.com]

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