Los Angeles – Disney has put a rodent on top of the box office, though not the studio’s venerable mascot, Mickey Mouse.
“Ratatouille,” an animated comedy about a gourmet rat that gets a chance to cook in a French restaurant, debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie with $47.2 million, according to studio estimates today.
Opening in second place was 20th Century Fox’s action thriller “Live Free or Die Hard,” Bruce Willis’s return as unstoppable cop John McClane, with $33.15 million. Since opening Wednesday, the movie has grossed $48.2 million.
In narrower release, Michael Moore’s health care documentary “Sicko,” released by the Weinstein Co. and Lionsgate, took in $4.5 million in its nationwide debut to finish at No. 9. The movie opened in one New York City theater a week earlier.
Focus Features’ family drama “Evening,” with an all-star cast that includes Meryl Streep, Vanessa Redgrave, Glenn Close and Claire Danes, opened at No. 10 with $3.5 million.
The previous weekend’s No. 1 movie, Universal’s “Evan Almighty,” fell to No. 3 with $15.1 million, raising its 10-day total to $60.6 million. The movie’s sharp 52 percent fall from opening weekend dims the studio’s prospects for recouping the $175 million production budget for the film.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through today at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC:
1. “Ratatouille,” $47.2 million.
2. “Live Free or Die Hard,” $33.15 million.
3. “Evan Almighty,” $15.1 million.
4. “1408,” $10.6 million.
5. “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” $9 million.
6. “Knocked Up,” $7.4 million.
7. “Ocean’s Thirteen,” $6.05 million.
8. “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” $5 million.
9. “Sicko,” $4.5 million.
10. “Evening,” $3.5 million.
