'Ralph' Wrecks Box Office Competition

AP Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK
The weekend box office was not only undeterred by aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, it was buoyed by it.

Disney’s “Wreck-It Ralph” opened strongly with $49.1 million and Robert Zemeckis’ “Flight,” starring Denzel Washington, soared to a $25 million debut. Both opened above expectations, capitalizing on East Coast audiences looking for distraction amid the recovery from the storm.

Though the hurricane had forced the closure of hundreds of movie theaters in the New York, New Jersey area, most were open for business by the weekend. As many as 100 theaters were still closed on Friday, but many of those were restored during the weekend.

With many East Coast children out of school on Friday, Disney saw an uptick of business for Friday matinees to the well-reviewed “Wreck-It Ralph.”

Paramount’s “Flight,” which had a smaller opening _ 1,884 theaters, or about half the number of “Wreck-It Ralph” _ might have been expected to be more harmed by Sandy, considering adult dramas generally depend heavily on the New York City market. But the film, which has found critical raves and Oscar buzz, proved particularly enticing to moviegoers, many of whom were surely pulled in by the star power of Washington, who plays an airline pilot of both heroic skill and debilitating alcoholism.

Harris said the studio counted only about 15 theaters lost to “Flight” due to power outages.

Aside from the draw of Washington, “Flight” is also the first live-action film in 12 years for the Zemeckis. The director, whose films include the “Back to Future” trilogy and “Cast Away,” had spent the last decade on performance-capture animated films like “The Polar Express” and “A Christmas Carol.” Harris called the return “spectacular” and said: “It’s almost like: Where have you been?”

Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage tale “Argo,” in its fourth week of release, expanded to 2,774 theaters. The Warner Bros. film added $10.2 million, bringing its cumulative gross to $75.9 million _ a healthy haul for a film expected to be in the thick of the Oscar hunt.

The Universal kung fu flick “The Man With the Iron Fists,” directed by RZA of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, opened with a debut of $8.2 million.

Overseas, the James Bond film “Skyfall” continued to dominate. It took in $156 million over the weekend bringing its international total to $287 million. The film opens in North America on Friday.

The strong box-office weekend _ up 21 percent from the same weekend last year _ bodes well for Hollywood ahead of the arrival of “Skyfall” and the upcoming holiday movie season.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Wreck-It Ralph,” $49.1 million.

2. “Flight,” $25 million.

3. “Argo,” $10.2 million.

4. “The Man With the Iron Fists,” $10.2 million.

5. “Taken 2,” $6 million.

6. “Cloud Atlas,” $5.3 million.

7. “Hotel Transylvania,” $4.5 million.

8. “Paranormal Activity 4,” $4.3 million.

9. “Here Comes the Boom,” $3.6 million.

10. “Silent Hill: Revelation,” $3.3 million.

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Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.