Box Office: Horton Hears A Who Is The 14th Best Animated Opening Of All Time

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 â€" 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 â€" 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 â€" 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) â€" 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 â€" 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 â€" 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 â€" 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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