Despite more measured praise from critics than usual—though certainly not the relative drubbing that greeted Cars 2 last year—Brave continued Pixar’s 17-year box office hot streak with its 13th straight #1 opener. At this point, the Pixar brand has become the most reliable in Hollywood: At $66.7 million, Brave debuted just over half a million dollars higher than Cars 2, which will nonetheless do little to stop the ongoing narrative about the degree to which it was bolstered (or limited) by the gender divide. (“Girls kick butt!” is the official quote out of Disney, and The Hunger Games and Snow White And The Huntsman make it an official trend.) Meanwhile, the absence of girl power must have torpedoed Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter—either that or the pre-release buzz about the historical adventure’s lack of verisimilitude did it in. Whatever the case, the minor literary hit didn’t carry over to the big screen, earning a paltry $16.5 million and suggesting that any future profiles of great American leaders will need to be dumbed-down a lot more. We’re not paying 10 bucks for a history lesson, Professor Bekmambetov!
In half-limited release, the Steve Carell/Keira Knightley apocalypse rom-com Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World proved a tough sell, scaring up a pitiful $2,361 per screen on 1,625 screens, despite the obvious appeal of a tender relationship between two lonelyhearts that will be abruptly consumed in a fireball along with the rest of humanity. In seriously limited release, Woody Allen fared much better with To Rome With Love, his indifferently received follow-up to last summer’s sleeper hit Midnight In Paris. With $75,800 per screen on five screens, the Woodman didn’t top the gaudy numbers posted by Moonrise Kingdom last month, but far exceeded anything else in current release.
For more detailed numbers, visit Box Office Mojo.