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"Ratatouille" takes early lead at box office
2007-06-30
Walt Disney Co.'s rat cartoon "Ratatouille" scampered to an early lead at the North American box office, earning $16.6 million during its first day of release, according to estimates issued on Saturday by tracking firm boxofficemojo.com. The movie, produced by Disney's Pixar Animation Studios unit, was the most popular release on Friday, ahead of the new Bruce Willis action movie "Live Free Or Die Hard" with $10.6 million, and last weekend's champion "Evan Almighty" with $5.1 million. The studios will issue estimated sales data for the Friday-to-Sunday period on Sunday morning, and final figures the following day. The opening for "Ratatouille" trailed that of the most recent Pixar production, "Cars," which drove off with $19.7 million on its first day in June 2006. Its weekend total was $60 million, a relative disappointment by Pixar's lofty standards. The film ended up with $244 million, making it the third most-popular release of the year. Directed by Brad Bird ("The Incredibles"), the critically adored "Ratatouille" revolves around a Parisian rodent with aspirations of gourmet stardom. Industry analysts had not expected it to match the "Cars" opening, citing such factors as a competitive box office and the low star-appeal of rats, especially ones in kitchens. "Live Free or Die Hard," the fourth iteration of the "Die Hard" action series, has earned $25.6 million since it was released Wednesday by News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox. "Evan Almighty," the first big disappointment of the lucrative summer box office, has earned $50.6 million to date. With a reported budget of $175 million, the Steve Carell movie was the most expensive comedy ever made. It was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal Inc.
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