Box Office: Horton Up 40% Saturday; Headed For $44M

An elephant named Horton and the residents of a certain tiny white speck are celebrating a huge opening weekend for the CGI animated Horton Hears a Who (Fox). Featuring the voices of Jim Carrey, Steve Carrel and comedy legend Carol Burnett, the Dr. Seuss adaptation received a 40% family-driven Friday-to-Saturday increase for an $18.62M 2nd day. Assuming a 35% Sunday drop, Horton will deliver another $12.1M, giving the extraordinarily-reviewed charmer $44.02M in the bank by Sunday night.

As I first reported Friday night, Horton Hears a Who will officially become the all-time 4th-best March opening (trailing 300, Ice Age: the Meltdown and its predecessor Ice Age), the 4th-best opening for an animated film from Fox (behind The Simpsons Movie and the 2 Ice Age films) and the 14th-best animated opening in modern box office history (scroll down to my Friday Night report for more detail).

Roland Emmerich's 10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros) is defying, to some degree, the overwhelmingly negative reaction from critics. The prehistoric epic got a 39% Saturday bump for a $6.81M Saturday. 10K should wrap up the weekend with $15.93M. That's down approximately 56% from its successful opening frame.

Summit's Never Back Down was down about 4% from its better than expected opening day. The low budget MMA teen drama starring newcomer Sean Faris fell to the #4 spot on Saturday with $3.12M, but it'll finish 3rd for the weekend with an estimated $8.33M. In an interesting sidebar, Never Back Down Director Jeff Wadlow is CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric's nephew.

College Road Trip (Disney) had a good Saturday with $3.63M, but this Martin Lawrence/Raven-Symone movie adventure will be #4 for the weekend with $7.89M. That's a respectable hold, down about 43% from last weekend.

The weekend Top 5 is rounded out by the remarkably durable Vantage Point (Sony). The assassination thriller seized another $2.49M on its 4th Saturday in release. VP will manage another $2.21M for the 3-day, bringing its domestic cume to $53.8M.

The weekend bomb is Doomsday from Universal. Maverick horror specialist Neil Marshall (The Descent) has missed with this futuristic action thriller. The film lurched to $1.78M on Saturday, and its opening weekend take will be only in the $4.5M range.

It'll be very uphill for 2 new limited releases. Warner Independent's Funny Games, from Cannes Film Festival winner Michael Haneke (Cache), will bank only $515,000 from its 289 engagements for a 3-Day Per Theatre Average of just $1,782. Meanwhile, Sleepwalking (Overture), starring Charlize Theron and Nick Stahl, has staggered out of the gates with a $1,500 PTA at just 30 locations.

The weekend PTA winner appears to be holdover Snow Angels (Warner Independent), with an average of $13,000 at each of its locations, followed by Horton Hears a Who at $11,133 and 3 Sony Classics titles – Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner The Counterfeiters with $10,303, Married Life with $5,277 and The Band's Visit with $5,000.

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS EARLY SATURDAY ESTIMATES

1. NEW – Horton Hears a Who (Fox) – $18.62M – $4,709 PTA – $31.92M

2. 10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros) – $6.81M – $1,997 PTA – $56.5M cume

3. College Road Trip (Disney) – $3.63M – $1,343 PTA – $22.1M cume

4. NEW – Never Back Down (Summit) – $3.12M – $1,143 PTA – $6.37M

5. Vantage Point (Sony) – $2.49M – $904 PTA – $57.9M cume

6. The Bank Job (Lionsgate) -$2.11M – $1,312 PTA – $11.7M cume

7. NEW â€" Doomsday (Universal) – $1.78M – $920 PTA – $3.43M cume

8. Semi Pro (New Line) – $1.26M- $557 PTA – $29M cume

9. The Other Boleyn Girl (Sony) – $1.17M – $973 PTA – $18.3M cume

10. Spiderwick Chronicles (Paramount) – $1.02M – $424 PTA -$64.6M cume

11. Jumper (Fox) – $900,000 – $561 PTA – $75.1M cume

12. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Focus) – $825,000 – $1,531 PTA – $4.7M cume

13. Fool's Gold (Warner Bros) – $790,000- $525 PTA – $65M cume

14. Step Up 2 the Streets (Disney) – $680,000 – $440 PTA – $55.1M cume

15. Juno (Fox Searchlight) – $540,000 – $638 PTA – $139.5M cume

*Penelope (Summit) – $400,000 – $528 PTA – $8M cume

*Definitely Maybe (Universal) – $300,000 – $470 PTA – $30.5M cume

*No Country For Old Men (Miramax) – $285,000 – $558 PTA – $73.6M

*NEW – Funny Games (Warner Independent) – $205,000 – $709 PTA – $385,000 cume

*In Bruges (Focus) – $195,000 – $924 PTA – $5M cume

*The Counterfeiters (Sony Classics) – $155,000 – $4,697 PTA – $1M

*There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $138,000 – $407 PTA – $39.2M cume

*The Band's Visit (Sony Classics) – $115,000 – $2,396 PTA – $1.2M cume

*Married Life (Sony Classics) – $41,000 – $2,278 PTA – $145,000

*Paranoid Park (IFC Films) – $37,000 – $1,682 PTA – $122,000 cume

*NEW â€" Sleepwalking (Overture) – $18,000 – $600 PTA – $31,000 cume

*Snow Angels (Warner Independent) – $16,000 – $5,333 PTA – $47,000 cume

*CJ7 (Sony Classics) – $11,000 – $440 PTA – $81,000 cume

*NEW – Flash Point (Third Rail) – $1,246 – $125 PTA – $2,066 cume

*NEW â€" Wetlands Preserved (First Run) – $383- $383 PTA – $1,509 cume

EXCLUSIVE FANTASY MOGULS REVISED 3-DAY ESTIMATES

1. NEW – Horton Hears a Who (Fox) â€" $44M – $11,133 PTA – $44M

2. 10,000 B.C. (Warner Bros) – $15.93M – $4,672 PTA – $60.7M cume

3. NEW – Never Back Down (Summit) – $8.33M – $3,054 PTA – $8.33M

4. College Road Trip (Disney) – $7.89M – $2,916 PTA – $24.2M cume

5. Vantage Point (Sony) – $5M – $3,103 PTA – $13.2M cume

6. The Bank Job (Lionsgate) -$5M – $3,103 PTA – $13.2M cume

7. NEW â€" Doomsday (Universal) – $4.53M- $2,343 PTA – $4.53M cume

8. Semi Pro (New Line) – $2.95M – $1,303 PTA – $29.8M cume

9. The Other Boleyn Girl (Sony) – $2.85M – $2,357 PTA – $19.1M cume

10. Spiderwick Chronicles (Paramount) – $2.24M – $932 PTA -$65.2M cume

11. Jumper (Fox) – $2.03M – $1,257 PTA – $75.6M cume

12. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Focus) – $1.91M – $3,545 PTA – $5.2M cume

13. Fool's Gold (Warner Bros) – $1.72M- $1,144 PTA – $65.3M cume

14. Step Up 2 the Streets (Disney) – $1.53M- $991 PTA – $55.4M cume

15. Juno (Fox Searchlight) – $1.17M – $1,383 PTA – $139.7M cume

*Penelope (Summit) – $925,000 – $1,221 PTA – $8.2M cume

*Definitely Maybe (Universal) – $680,000 – $1,065 PTA – $30.6M cume

*No Country For Old Men (Miramax) – $621,000 – $1,215 PTA – $73.7M

*NEW – Funny Games (Warner Independent) – $515,000 – $1,782 PTA – $515,000 cume

*In Bruges (Focus) – $430,000 – $2,037 PTA – $5.1M cume

*The Counterfeiters (Sony Classics) – $340,000 – $10,303 PTA – $1.1M cume

*There Will Be Blood (Paramount Vantage) – $310,000 – $914 PTA – $39.3M cume

*The Band's Visit (Sony Classics) – $240,000 – $5,000 PTA – $1.3M cume

*Married Life (Sony Classics) – $95,000 – $5,277 PTA – $175,000

*Paranoid Park (IFC Films) – $90,000 – $4,090 PTA – $150,000 cume

*NEW â€" Sleepwalking (Overture) – $45,000 – $1,500 PTA – $45,000 cume

*Snow Angels (Warner Independent) – $39,000 – $13,000 PTA – $59,000 cume

*CJ7 (Sony Classics) – $25,000 – $1,000 PTA – $88,000 cume

*NEW – Flash Point (Third Rail) – $2,789 – $278 PTA – $2,789 cume

*NEW â€" Wetlands Preserved (First Run) – $1,750 – $1,750 PTA – $1,750 cume

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