'BOB' SQUEEZED BY 'TREASURE' NICOLAS CAGE ACTION FILM FINDS $35.5 MILLION.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer Nicolas Cage and producer Jerry Bruckheimer dampened the feature film debut of a cartoon sponge as their action-adventure movie ``National Treasure'' edged out ``The SpongeBob SquarePants This article is about the series. For the title character, see SpongeBob SquarePants (character). For other uses, see SpongeBob SquarePants (disambiguation). SpongeBob SquarePants is an Emmy-nominated American animated television series and media franchise. Movie'' for top box office honors this weekend. ``Treasure,'' released by The Walt Disney Noun 1. Walt Disney - United States film maker who pioneered animated cartoons and created such characters as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck; founded Disneyland (1901-1966) Disney, Walter Elias Disney Co., took in an estimated $35.3 million in ticket sales and is by far the biggest opening of Cage's career. It's also another November hit for Disney, which continued to ride the success of ``The Incredibles.'' That computer-animated comedy landed in third place after two weeks at the top. ``It's gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. ,'' Chuck Viane, Disney's president of domestic distribution, said of ``Treasure's'' bigger-than-expected debut. ``The public really enjoys this movie, and the (PG) rating kind of gave it an umbrella that widened the audience.'' The estimated $33.5 million earned by ``SpongeBob'' represented the biggest opening of 2004 for Paramount Pictures which, along with Disney, has produced more than its share of box office duds in 2004. ``We feel great today,'' said Wayne Lewellen, Paramount's president of domestic distribution. ``SpongeBob,'' based on the popular cartoon series A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs created or adapted for television broadcast with a common series title, usually related to one another. on the Nickelodeon cable network, drew the expected audience of kids and families but also had a surprisingly big nonfamily audience of 42 percent. ``Obviously, the broader the demographics The attributes of people in a particular geographic area. Used for marketing purposes, population, ethnic origins, religion, spoken language, income and age range are examples of demographic data. you can cover, the more success the film can have so this bodes very well,'' Lewellen said. ``Incredibles,'' the latest Pixar Animation Studio Animation studio can refer to:
Also keeping a share of the family audience was Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) .' ``The Polar Express,'' which landed in fourth place with an estimated gross of $15.2 million. ``Express'' saw its audience drop by only 35 percent in its second weekend. This is somewhat encouraging for a $170 million- budgeted film that has been off to a shaky start at the box office, earning $51 million to date. Universal Pictures ``Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,'' expanded into wide release after making a spectacular bow in 800 locations last weekend. Now in 2,450 locations, ``Jones'' finished in fifth place with an estimated gross of $10.1 million. It has earned $21.6 million domestically so far and done even better internationally where it has grossed $59 million to date. ``The picture is made for worldwide sensibilities sen·si·bil·i·ty n. pl. sen·si·bil·i·ties 1. The ability to feel or perceive. 2. a. Keen intellectual perception: the sensibility of a painter to color. b. ,'' said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of domestic distribution. The top two new hits propelled overall box office activity among the top 12 films to an estimated $144.8 million, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. This was a much-needed 14.9 percent increase over the same weekend last year and a 7.9 percent bump up from last weekend. ``This is what we need, multiple films doing big business,'' said Exhibitor Relations Co. President Paul Dergarabedian. ``This is a good way to signal the beginning of the holiday season.'' Greg Hernandez, (818) 713-3758 greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com TOP MOVIES Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released today. 1. ``National Treasure,'' $35.3 million. 2. ``The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,'' $33.5 million. 3. ``The Incredibles,'' $26.8 million. 4. ``The Polar Express,'' $15.2 million. 5. ``Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,'' $10.1 million. 6. ``After the Sunset,'' $5.3 million. 7. ``Ray,'' $4.6 million. 8. ``The Grudge grudge tr.v. grudged, grudg·ing, grudg·es 1. To be reluctant to give or admit: even grudged the tuition money. 2. ,'' $3.8 million. 9. ``Seed of Chucky,'' $3.1 million. 10. ``Saw,'' $3 million. CAPTION(S): box Box: TOP MOVIES (see text) |
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