Dr. Suess’ Horton Hears a Who (Fox) delivered an elephant-size $13.75M at America’s box offices Friday, and the animated film will finish the weekend with a monstrous $42.62M. If that number holds, Horton will be the 14th-biggest animated opening in modern box office history.

ALL-TIME TOP 15 ANIMATED OPENINGS
1. Shrek the Third - $121.6M
2. Shrek 2 - $108M
3. The Simpsons Movie - $74M
4. The Incredibles - $70.4M
5. Finding Nemo - $70.2M
6. Ice Age: The Meltdown - $68M
7. Monsters Inc. - $62.5M
8. Cars - $60.1M
9. Toy Story 2 - $57.3M
10. Shark Tale - $47.6M
11. Madagascar - $47.2M
12. Ratatouille - $47M
13. Ice Age - $46.3M
14. Horton Hears a Who - $42.62M (estimate)
15. Shrek - $42.3M

The Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino-directed Suess adaptation will be the all-time 4th-biggest opening for a Fox animated film, trailing only The Simpsons Movie and the 2 Ice Age movies. Even more impressive is that Horton Hears a Who, by Monday morning, will be the all-time #4 March opening, behind only last year’s 300 and Fox’s Ice Age movies.

In the #2 spot for the weekend is the critically-reviled 10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros), which is apparently receiving very bad word-of-mouth. The Roland Emmerich prehistoric spectacle managed $5M on its 2nd Friday, and it will manage only an estimated $15.5M in the frame, diving 57% from its opening weekend.

Disney’s College Road Trip will be third for the 3-day with only a 40% dip on its 2nd weekend. After a $2.1M Friday, big Saturday and Sunday matinees will drive the Martin Lawrence tween road movie to an $8.19M frame and just shy of $25M total domestic.

Never Back Down, the new Karate Kid-like release from Summit, sold $2.65M in tickets on its opening day, and it is headed for a $7.2M weekend, good for 4th place. Sony’s Vantage Point continues to hold well, dipping only 24% from last weekend with $1.7M or so on Friday and a likely $5.78M in the 3-day.

The other new wide release, DOOMSDAY from Universal, is a disaster. Despite opening on 1,936 screens, it lurched to just $1.5M Friday, and it will only reach $4.2M for the weekend.

The limited specialty releases have met with relative indifference. Michael Haneke’s Funny Games (Warner Independent) delivered a meager $632 per screen at 289 locations on Friday, and its weekend PTA will be something in the $2,100 range. Overture’s 2nd release, Sleepwalking starring Nick Stahl, generated only $420 per screen at 30 locations on its opening day. Its 3-day Per Theatre Average will be an estimated $1,433 or so.

Looking at Friday numbers, Warner Independent’s Snow Angels got a nice surge and may win the weekend PTA race with an estimated $14,000+ per location. Horton Hears A Who (Fox) and Oscar winner The Counterfeiters (Sony Classics) are in a tight race for #2.

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY FRIDAY ESTIMATES
1. NEW - Horton Hears a Who (Fox) - $13.75M - $3,477 PTA - $13.75M
2. 10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros) - $5M - $1,466 PTA - $49.8M cume
3. NEW - Never Back Down (Summit) - $2.65M - $971 PTA - $2.65M
4. College Road Trip (Disney) - $2.1M - $776 PTA - $18.4M cume
5. Vantage Point (Sony) - $1.7M - $616 PTA - $55.5M cume
6. NEW – DOOMSDAY (Universal) - $1.5M - $775 PTA - $1.5M cume
7. The Bank Job (Lionsgate) -$1.3M - $812 PTA - $9.5M cume
8. Semi Pro (New Line) - $900,000 - $396 PTA - $27.7M cume
9. The Other Boleyn Girl (Sony) - $855,000 - $705 PTA - $17.1M cume
10. Jumper (Fox) - $585,000 - $364 PTA - $74.2M cume
11. Spiderwick Chronicles (Paramount) - $570,000 - $237 PTA -$63.6M cume
12. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Focus) - $520,000 - $965 PTA - $3.8M cume
13. Fool’s Gold (Warner Bros) - $515,000- $342 PTA - $64.1M cume
14. Step Up 2 the Streets (Disney) - $470,000 - $304 PTA - $54.3M cume
15. Juno (Fox Searchlight) - $340,000 - $402 PTA - $138.9M cume
*Penelope (Summit) - $265,000 - $350 PTA - $7.6M cume
*Definitely Maybe (Universal) - $215,000 - $337 PTA - $30.2M cume
*NEW - Funny Games (Warner Independent) - $185,000 - $632 PTA - $185,000 cume
*No Country For Old Men (Miramax) - $165,000 - $323 PTA - $73.3M
*In Bruges (Focus) - $115,000 - $545 PTA - $4.8M cume
*There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) - $83,000 - $245 PTA - $39M cume
*The Counterfeiters (Sony Classics) - $81,000 - $2,455 PTA - $874,000
*The Band’s Visit (Sony Classics) - $52,000 - $1,083 PTA - $1.1M cume
*Paranoid Park (IFC Films) - $25,000 - $1,136 PTA - $85,000 cume
*Married Life (Sony Classics) - $24,000 - $1,333 PTA - $105,000
*NEW – Sleepwalking (Overture) - $12,600 - $420 PTA - $12,600 cume
*Snow Angels (Warner Independent) - $11,000 - $3,667 PTA - $31,000 cume
*CJ7 (Sony Classics) - $7,000 - $280 PTA - $70,000 cume
*NEW – Wetlands Preserved (First Run) - $1,126 - $1,126 PTA - $1,126 cume
*NEW - Flash Point (Third Rail) - $820 - $82 PTA - $820 cume

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY 3-DAY ESTIMATES
1. NEW - Horton Hears a Who (Fox) – 42.62M - $10,780 PTA - $42.62M
2. 10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros) - $15.5M - $4,545 PTA - $60.3M cume
3. College Road Trip (Disney) - $8.19M - $3,027 PTA - $24.5M cume
4. NEW - Never Back Down (Summit) - $7.2M - $2,638 PTA - $7.2M
5.Vantage Point (Sony) - $5.78M - $2,093 PTA - $58.5M cume
6. The Bank Job (Lionsgate) -$4.58M - $2,841 PTA - $12.7M cume
7. NEW – DOOMSDAY (Universal) - $4.2M- $2,169 PTA - $4.2M cume
8. Semi Pro (New Line) - $2.88M - $1,269 PTA - $29.7M cume
9. The Other Boleyn Girl (Sony) - $2.86M - $2,363 PTA - $19.1M cume
10. Spiderwick Chronicles (Paramount) - $2.46M - $1,022 PTA -$65.5M cume
11. Jumper (Fox) - $2.01M - $1,257 PTA - $75.6M cume
12. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Focus) - $1.87M - $3,473 PTA - $5.2M cume
13. Fool’s Gold (Warner Bros) - $1.72M- $1,146 PTA - $65.3M cume
14. Step Up 2 the Streets (Disney) - $1.45M- $942 PTA - $55.3M cume
15. Juno (Fox Searchlight) - $1.15M - $1,366 PTA - $139.7M cume
*Penelope (Summit) - $930,000 - $1,229 PTA - $8.3M cume
*Definitely Maybe (Universal) - $715,000 - $1,121 PTA - $30.7M cume
*NEW - Funny Games (Warner Independent) - $615,000 - $2,128 PTA - $615,000 cume
*No Country For Old Men (Miramax) - $600,000 - $1,174 PTA - $73.7M
*In Bruges (Focus) - $425,000 - $2,014 PTA - $5.1M cume
*The Counterfeiters (Sony Classics) - $345,000 - $10,455 PTA - $1.1M cume
*There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) - $325,000 - $959 PTA - $39.3M cume
*The Band’s Visit (Sony Classics) - $247,000 - $5,146 PTA - $1.3M cume
*Married Life (Sony Classics) - $93,000 - $5,167 PTA - $174,000
*Paranoid Park (IFC Films) - $75,000 - $3,409 PTA - $135,000 cume
*NEW – Sleepwalking (Overture) - $43,000 - $1,433 PTA - $43,000 cume
*Snow Angels (Warner Independent) - $43,000 - $14,333 PTA - $63,000 cume
*CJ7 (Sony Classics) - $24,000 - $960 PTA - $87,000 cume
*NEW – Wetlands Preserved (First Run) - $3,828 - $3,828 PTA - $3,828 cume
*NEW - Flash Point (Third Rail) - $2,870 - $287 PTA - $2,870 cume

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