Animated times at box office

Unlike its protagonists who have to fight to regain their heroic identities, The Incredibles marched easily to the top of the US box office charts, earning a mighty $70.6 million in three days. To put it differently, it earned more than the combined gross of the next 15 films!

Though it opened to a raft of strong reviews from most major publications across America and Canada, and to audiences vowing to come back, The Incredibles does not have an easy box-office ride. Opening with plenty of hype on Wednesday is Polar Express that, at $150 million, cost twice as much as the Disney/Pixar film. 

Using a controversial, ambitious technology to digitise actors' movements and expressions and plug them into the animated world, Polar Express unites director Robert Zemeckis with one of his favorite stars, Tom Hanks, after Forrest Gump (1994) and Cast Away (2000).

One of the most expensive animated films ever made, Polar Express is the tale of a boy whose faith in Santa Claus and the Christmas spirit has slowly diminished. And yet he cannot resist getting into the Polar Express that comes to a stop outside his house. The conductor (Hanks) then launches the boy into a thrilling experience that also serves as a life-affirming inner journey.

More on rediff.com ! Emperor Aamir at Mughal fiasco Alfie would put Bush to sleep! The Incredibles is impressive!

Some box office experts believe there is room for two ambitious films aimed at the family audiences simultaneously, but they also know that Polar Express has to gross far more than The Incredibles to recoup its investment. Anything less than a $200 million gross in America would be a disappointment. 

The only other widely released new film, Alfie, with its moralistic streak, bombed. Though Jude Law was rather good as a playboy, the film couldn't handle dealing with the wages of passion and sin.

For Jude Law, whose previous film Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow was a huge box-office disappointment last month, Alfie could be another career-threatening move. It grossed just about $6.7 million at the fifth position on the chart. Sky Captain and Alfie were both produced by Paramount.

A glamorous remake of the gritty Michael Caine film of the same name, Alfie got a mixed reception from critics.

Admirers of the previous Alfie, released more than three decades ago, were reminded that its strong appeal stemmed largely because its hero was unapologetic for his free, sexual and irresponsible lifestyle. Here was a rogue who charmed, shocked and repulsed us.

The New York Times called the film 'a smooth piece of work'. But The Boston Globe found it 'not funny, alluring, affecting, or erotic … just conceited.'

The Chicago Sun-Times' Roger Ebert mercifully called the film 'funny at times and finally sad and sweet' but The New York Post's Megan Lehmann called it 'another ill-conceived remake.' Among the trade publications, Hollywood Reporter called it 'a remake without a reason' and finally declared, 'Alfie can no longer shock us.'

The second highest grossing film of the week, Ray, earned about $13.6 million, narrowly beating The Grudge, the supernatural drama that reigned on top for two weeks. 

While Ray's 10-day box-office reached an impressive $39.8 million, The Grudge, which has psyched about $89.5 million in less than three weeks, could fly beyond the $100 million mark in another ten days. Both films were made for far less than average Hollywood costs.

The screen-bio of music legend Ray Charles, the Jamie Foxx-starring hit Ray cost about $35 million while The Grudge, remake of a Japanese smash hit, was completed for less than $10 million.

Despite The Grudge still hanging strong, British horror export Saw is also doing decently. At fourth place, the extremely low budget hit has already grossed a hearty $35 million. Sequels for both horror films have already been announced.

At the sixth position, another Japanese remake, Shall We Dance? gently headed to a $60 million final gross. It has further consolidated Richard Gere's post-Chicago reputation as one of the more bankable of American stars.

Despite the arrival of The Incredibles, there was quite a bit of business for Shark Tale, another animated film aimed at family audiences. With $154 million grabbed so far, expect the film to be around for at least four weeks, even as the family market gets increasingly cluttered with the arrival of such huge budget films as Polar Express.

Among the smaller films generating Oscar buzz, Sideways and The Motorcycle Diaries are forging ahead with pleasing numbers. At the 15th position on the chart and playing in just 66 theaters (up by 50 from previous week), Sideways, the bittersweet story of friendship and inner growth, has grossed about $2 million in three weeks.

And Motorcycle Diaries, at 16th position, earned about $1 million over the weekend in about 270 theaters, and saw its cumulative gross reach $10.6 million.

Box office estimates for North America, November 5-7

Rank	Film	Weekend gross	Total gross	Number of weeks
1	The Incredibles	$70.6 million	$70.6m	New
2	Ray	$13.8 million (down 31%)	$39.8m	2
3	The Grudge	$13.5 million (down 38%)	$89.5m	3
4	Saw	$11.4 million (down 37%)	$35m	2
5	Alfie	$6.5 million	$6.5m	New
6	Shall We Dance?	$5.6 million (down 10%)	$42m	4
7	Shark Tale	$4.6 million (down 39%)	$154m	6
8	Friday Night Lights	$3 million (down 27%)	$57m	5
9	Ladder 49	$2.6 million (down 19.4 %)	$70m	6
10	Team America: World Police	$1.8 million (down 20%)	$30m	4