Dave McNary and Pamela McClintock of Variety:
Disney-Pixar summer tentpole "Wall-E" and Universal's turbo-charged Angelina Jolie starrer "Wanted" should fuel a continued winning streak at the June box office as they open this weekend, capping an unexpectedly strong month in terms of theater traffic.
"Wall-E," the ninth pic from Pixar, is opening in 3,992 theaters, the R-rated "Wanted" in 3,175.
Total B.O. revenues for June are running 20% ahead of 2007, while admissions are up a strong 17.3%. The June bloom has helped lessen an overall decline in admissions for the year. At the beginning of the month, attendance was down 4.3%; now, admissions for the year are running 2.6% behind 2007 levels.
For the summer sesh -- which began May 2 with the bow of "Iron Man" -- box office revenues are 3.6% ahead of the same period in 2007. Admissions are essentially flat. There have been a number of surprises, and this weekend could bring another with "Wanted" should the actioner outperform other R-rated pics that have bowed in the summer.
"Wall-E," the whimsical tale of a robot who's all alone on the planet Earth of the future, was receiving nothing but rave reviews as of Thursday afternoon and is predicted to win the weekend overall.
Pixar and Disney's 2007 toon "Ratatouille" grossed $47 million in its domestic debut on its way to cuming $206.4 million. Film grossed $415 million overseas for a worldwide total of $621.4 million.
Most are predicting that "Wall-E" will easily open bigger than "Ratatouille," as its title character is far more adorable than a rodent.
"Wall-E" marks Andrew Stanton's first directorial outing since Pixar's "Finding Nemo."
Earlier this month, DreamWorks Animation and Paramount's "Kung Fu Panda" opened to $60.2 million. ("Panda" has grossed $164.5 million through Wednesday, according to Rentrak.) "Panda" had the advantage of opening in a less-crowded playing field, while "Wall-E" has the advantage of carrying the Pixar brand.
"Wanted," also toplining James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman and loosely based on the comicstrip by Mark Millar, is about a band of super-assassins. It was directed by Russian-Kazakh filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov.
Tracking is strong for "Wanted" across all audiences, although it should skew on the younger side. It's not commonplace for R-rated actioners to open in summer, a season for more kid-friendly fare. "Bad Boys II," released in July 2003, scored the highest opening ever for an R-rated summer release at $46.5 million.
"Wanted" could take business away from Universal and Marvel Studios' "The Incredible Hulk," which enters its third weekend with a domestic gross of $104.2 million through Wednesday.
Based on tracking and the combined strength of the cast and the action factor, some box office forecasters believe "Wanted" could cross the $40 million mark in its bow. An opening in the $30 million-$40 million range would be considered good...
Joshua Rich of EW:
Pixar's robot movie has an edge over Angelina Jolie's assassin flick in this weekend's box-office shoot-out
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WALL-E may may have the box office edge but Wanted marks an appearance from the great Terence Stamp!!!
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