‘Chicken Little’ opens big at U.S. box office

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “Chicken Little,” Walt Disney Co.’s
first fully computer-animated movie, opened to a
better-than-expected $40.1 million at the North American box
office, the company said on Sunday.

Disney had conservatively predicted the closely watched
film would sell at least $30 million worth of tickets in its
first three days Chuck Viane, the company’s president of
domestic theatrical distribution, said the higher-than-expected
figure was “pretty neat.”

“Chicken Little” is considered a test of the ability of the
cartoon pioneer’s ability to succeed in the world of computer
animation without help from the blockbusters made by its
production partner Pixar Animation Studios Inc.

Disney’s partnership with Pixar, in which it has shared box
office grosses of $3.2 billion since 1995 from movies like the
“Toy Story” series and “Finding Nemo,” expires next year.

The two companies are in talks to renew the pact, although
Pixar is pursuing a deal under which it would pay a flat fee
for distribution and keep the profits for itself.

Under former Disney Chief Executive Officer Michael Eisner,
relations between Disney and Pixar deteriorated but new Disney
CEO Robert Iger is working to restore harmony.

The “Chicken Little” debut came nowhere near the openings
of such recent Pixar films as “The Incredibles,” “Finding Nemo”
or “Monsters, Inc..”

Critics loved those movies but they were harsh in their
assessment of “Chicken Little,” which revolves around the
age-old tale of a chicken that thinks the sky is falling. In
Disney’s adaptation, no one believes the chicken (voiced by
Zach Braff, star of the NBC sitcom “Scrubs”) when he warns of a
greater peril.

“FUNNY IS MONEY”

“The public votes with their wallets and this is an
affirmation that funny is money,” Viane said.

The “Chicken Little” tally includes sales of $2.1 million
from 85 theaters offering a 3-D experience. “Chicken Little”
also opened at No. 1 in Mexico, Russia, Malaysia and Taiwan,
totaling $5.5 million, Disney said.

The top 10 contained one other new entry, the war film
“Jarhead,” which opened at No. 2 with $28.8 million, also well
ahead of expectations in the $16 million-$18 million range.

The Universal Pictures release, budgeted at $72 million,
stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx in the fact-based story of
U.S. Marines during the first Gulf War. It was directed by Sam
Mendes, who won an Oscar for his work on “American Beauty.”

Critics were not overwhelmed by the film but it succeeded
in attracting an even balance of male and female viewers of all
ages, said Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.

Last weekend’s champion, the gruesome horror movie “Saw
II,” slipped to No. 3 with $17.2 million, taking its 10-day
haul to $60.5 million. It was released by Gate Films, a unit of
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

“The Legend of Zorro” followed at No. 4 with with $10
million, also down two places in its second weekend. The fabled
swashbuckler held on to the No. 1 spot at the foreign box
office, said distributor Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony
Corp. The North American total of $30.3 million pushed its
worldwide haul to $90.4 million.

Additionally, two films that have been playing in limited
release entered the top 10 for the first time. Actor/director
George Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck” (Warner
Independent Pictures), a black-and-white drama about newsman
Edward R. Murrow, jumped five places to No. 7 with $3.1
million. And “Shopgirl,” a Disney romance starring Claire Danes
and Steve Martin, surged 12 places to No. 9 with $2.3 million.

Reuters/VNU