Saturday Update


Disney shot to number one with the nationwide expansion of its traditionally animated film The Princess and the Frog which collected an estimated $7M from 3,434 locations on Friday in its first day of wide release. The gross did not match up to the figures posted by this year's top toons which were computer-animated and presented in 3D with higher ticket prices. However, it was a solid debut for December which is a month when films tend to have smaller openings but longer legs with kids and adults getting plenty of time off as Christmas approaches and schools close. Princess should have no problem becoming the sixth animated movie of 2009 to break the $100M mark in the weeks ahead. For this weekend, a Friday-to-Sunday tally of $23-25M should be possible.

Sandra Bullock's runaway hit The Blind Side wasn't affected too much by the new animated gal in town. The Warner Bros. release grossed an estimated $4.7M on Friday slipping only 30% from a week earlier. That should lead to a weekend take of around $13-15M boosting the cume to a sensational $149M.

Opening in third place was Clint Eastwood's latest trophy contender Invictus with an estimated $2.9M on Friday, its first day in theaters. The director's films typically skew older than most others in the marketplace and see Saturday as the big day for audience turnout. The Morgan Freeman-Matt Damon drama should score roughly $10M for the weekend but is likely to show solid legs in the weeks ahead. Reviews have been strong.

Among holdovers, Friday-to-Friday declines were 52% for The Twilight Saga: New Moon and a slim 12% for A Christmas Carol which is holding up quite well now that the yuletide holiday is around the corner.

Get earlier box office updates and analysis by following BoxOfficeGuru.com on Twitter.

Check the chart of the Top December Openings.

For a NEW review of The Lovely Bones visit The Chief Report.

Check back on Sunday for the complete weekend box office report.


Last Updated: December 12, 2009 at 12:45PM ET

Written by Gitesh Pandya