Filmgoers Wild For ‘Wall-E’ And ‘Wanted’

Sources tell me that very early North American box office numbers show that Disney / Pixar’s Wall-E took in $23M Friday from 3,992 theaters for what should be high $60sM opening weekend including the Saturday matinee bump. This means Wall-E is big, but maybe not the biggest Pixar (which was The Incredibles at $70.5M). Disney is looking for a Best Picture Oscar nomination for the pic, possible with 100% great reviews from top critics and even rival studios bigwigs gushing about the pic: “It’s just adorable and smart and interesting. It has more character development and emotion than any movie I’ve seen this year.” In the No. 2 place, Universal’s Angelina Jolie/James McAvoy starrer Wanted debuted to $18.5M Friday from 3,175 venues for what should be a bigger than expected $50+M weekend. (The studio only expected $35+M.) “In terms of comps, that would be an extraordinary result for an R-rated summer action movie,” a source tells me. - from Nikki