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The animated character "Wall-E" is shown
in this undated publicity photo released to Reuters April 23, 2008 in a
scene from the Disney/Pixar film of the same name. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>> |
LOS ANGELES, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Pixar Animation's
sci-fi robot romance "Wall-E" opened this weekend with 62.5 million U.S. dollars
at the top of box office in North America, as Hollywood's summer revenues keep
growing to take advantage of economic woes.
"Wall-E" tells the love story of a lonely robot who
was left behind on Earth to clean up trash when humans abandoned the
over-polluted planet around 2700. He falls in love with a girl robot sent by
humans from the space orbit to evaluate the situation at their home planet many
years later.
Pixar continued its perfect track record at movie
theaters as "Wall-E" became the ninth consecutive No. 1 film at box office by
the Disney unit.
Meanwhile, Universal's thriller "Wanted" starring
Angelina Jolie as a cold-blooded assassin also debuted to strong business with
51.1 million dollars, according to preliminary box office figures released
Sunday.
And the strong box office performances of "Wall-E" and "Wanted" helped keep the Hollywood summer juggernaut rolling higher.
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The animated character Wall-E is shown in a scene from the film "Wall-E". The film features dystopian landscapes, social commentary and a lack of conventional dialogue that are rare under the Walt Disney Co. banner, but it sticks to Pixar's basic themes of love, loyalty and friendship.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> |
The 12 top-selling films took in 179.2 million
dollars collectively this weekend, up 22 percent from the same weekend last year
and representing the fifth consecutive up weekend for Hollywood after the
lucrative summer season kicked off on May 2, according to Los Angeles-based
tracking firm Media By Numbers.
Movie industry analysts say that the sluggish U.S.
economic and soaring gas prices may eventually become a boon to Hollywood, as
more people tend to see movies and avoid traveling or other expensive
entertainment like sports events and concerts.
Last week's box office leader, Warner Bros' spy
comedy "Get Smart" slipped to No. 3 with estimated 20 million dollars over the
weekend, followed by Dream Work Animation's "Kung Fu Panda" and Universal's "The
Incredible Hulk" with 11.7 million and 9.2 million dollars respectively.