Doughnuts To Dollars: The Simpsons Wins

Homer And Family Earn $71.9M On Opening Weekend, Beating Out "Chuck And Larry"

(CBS/AP)  Woo Hoo!

"The Simpsons Movie" turned doughnuts into dollars over the weekend, raking in $71.9 million to debut as the top movie this week.

The big-screen tale of the lovable, if dysfunctional, family rolled over the competition, sending last week's top movie, Universal Studio's "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," into second place with $19 million, a 44 percent drop.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," from Warner Bros., fell to third place with $17.1 million, a 48 percent drop from last week. The film has grossed $242 million domestically after three weeks in theaters.

"Homer's odyssey paid off," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

The film, which featured the antics of yellow-hued Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie and a host of motley characters, grossed an average of $18,320 on 3,922 screens across the country and also opened strongly in 70 foreign markets.

"We are ecstatic," said Chris Aronson, senior vice president for distribution at 20th Century Fox. "It far exceeded even the most optimistic of expectations."

People magazine assistant managing editor and Early Show entertainment contributor Jess Cagle says the most "The Simpsons Movie" was expected to take in on its debut weekend was $40-50 million.

The hand-drawn movie had the fifth best opening weekend of the year, beating such notable contenders as "Transformers," from Paramount, "Ghost Rider," from Sony Pictures and the computer-animated "Ratatouille," from The Walt Disney Co. and Pixar Animation Studios.

"It's unprecedented to have the longest-running sitcom of all time still on the air and have it also be the number one movie in theaters," Dergarabedian said.

Dergarabedian praised the film's marketing campaign, which included dressing a number of 7-Eleven stores around the country as Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience stores selling such Simpsons' favorites as Buzz Cola and Squishees.

Cagle also cited the trailer the studio created to publicize the film, which he said was itself a big hit in theaters, and the fact that the plot had been kept secret.

Another factor, according to Cagle: underestimation of the great affection the characters have with the public.

One more: the movie's PG-13 rating -- considered risky, because most animated movies are G or PG. But Cagle says it was a signal to teens that it wasn't just a kids' movie, that it was more risque.

Cagle ponts out that "The Simpsons Movie," along with such films as "Transformers" and the latest Harry Potter movie, have done well enough to turn around a somewhat disappointing summer box office.

The stellar debut of "The Simpsons Movie" helped propel that take. This week's top-12 films grossed $168.6 million, up a whopping 45 percent from the top 12 last year, which included "Miami Vice" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

The debut was good also news for Fox, which has done well this year with top-grossing films "Live Free or Die Hard" and "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer."

The long-awaited film version of the Fox Television show played well across the country and with all age brackets, Fox said Sunday, giving the distributor hope that it will hold its own against next week's big opener, "The Bourne Ultimatum," from Universal.

The weekend's other debuts made the top 10, but lagged far behind "The Simpsons Movie."

"No Reservations," the Warner Bros. romantic comedy starring Catherine Zeta-Jones as a gourmet chef, earned $11.8 million.

"I Know Who Killed Me," a Sony Pictures/Tri-Star thriller starring Lindsay Lohan, debuted in 9th place with a paltry $3.4 million.

"Who's Your Caddy," from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, grossed $2.9 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Simpsons Movie," $71.9 million.

2. "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," $19.1 million.

3. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," $17.1 million.

4. "Hairspray," $15.6 million.

5. "No Reservations," $11.8 million.

6. "Transformers," $11.5 million.

7. "Ratatouille," $7.2 million.

8. "Live Free or Die Hard," $5.4 million.

9. "I Know Who Killed Me," $3.4 million.

10. "Who's Your Caddy," $2.9 million.

[drummer94]

Homer is flippin'. Part Ralph Kramden, part Norton, part Archie, part Fred Flintstone. Hanna-Barbera should be proud. Oh yeah, and rich.

[extremophil]

The Simpsons are number one? Doh!