Walt Disney Pictures Race to Witch Mountain topped the box office this weekend in a surprise move, toppling the long-awaited Watchmen movie.
$25 Million
The movie, which is a remake of the Disney classic Escape to Witch Mountain, opened this past weekend on just over 3,100 screens and took in $25 million to take the top spot for the weekend. It was a great opening for the remake and bodes well for the continued success of Dwayne Johnson films at Walt Disney Pictures. To quote from Variety’s article:
Overseas, “Witch Mountain” opened in only a few territories. It got off to a strong start in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, grossing $725,000 and matching “Game Plan’s” debut. (Disney is going out first in those three territories because of the usual concern over piracy).
On the domestic side, “Witch Mountain” skewed slightly female at 51%. Kids made up 28% of the aud, followed by teenagers at 17% and adults 26-34 at 17% and then adults 18-25 at 11%. Disney said 18% of the audience were adults not attending with children.
Disney hopes “Witch Mountain” will take advantage of spring break, although family toon “Monsters vs. Aliens” opens in two weeks. Because of rolling school holidays, Hollywood can count on kids being out of school for the next five weeks on a staggered basis.
The full article can be found here.
Not to rest on laurels
Variety is also reporting on Disney re-teaming the Director of Race to Witch Mountain, Andy Flickman, with another great action story Monster Attack Network. The script, based on a graphic novel tells the story of a group of first-responders protecting an idyllic South Pacific island setting plagued by monster attacks.
[subscribe]