'Despicable Me' Tops Weekend Box Office At $60.1M

LOS ANGELES — "Despicable Me" wasn't such a bad guy after all, it seems, opening at the top of the box office with an estimated $60.1 million.

The first 3-D animated movie from Universal Pictures stars Steve Carell as the voice of Gru, a bumbling villain with plans to steal the moon — until three adorable orphan girls enter his life. Jason Segel, Russell Brand and Julie Andrews are among the star-studded voice cast.

Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, said Sunday that "Despicable Me" far exceeded the studio's expectations for opening weekend.

"Thirty (million) would have been a win for the studio — because it's a new creative idea, we really didn't know what we had, so we backed in saying $30 (million)," said Rocco. "I would never have said $50 million-plus."

Rocco believes a number of factors worked in the movie's favor, including jokes for the kids and more grown-up humor and a warmhearted story for adults. But the tiny, yellow Minions — quirky, pill-shaped creatures who spout gibberish and help Gru carry out his dastardly plans — were appealing to both, and were a huge part of the film's marketing campaign.

The week's other new wide release, "Predators," grossed $25.3 million to open at No. 3. A sequel of sorts to the 1987 sci-fi cult cla#sic "Predator," the 20th Century Fox film stars Adrien Brody and Laurence Fishburne as mercenaries being stalked by alien hunters in the jungle.

Robert Rodriguez ("Planet Terror," the "Spy Kids" movies) wrote an early version of the script in the 1990s, produced the film at his Texas compound and his name appears high on the credits — an[..]ociation that proved fruitful, said Bert Livingston, a 20th Century Fox distribution executive

"People wanted to see the film because Robert Rodriguez was attached to it, and he's the best at what he does, and we got our audience," Livingston said. "It was 70-percent male and they liked the film."

Meanwhile, last week's juggernaut, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," fell to second place with $33.35 million. The third film in the wildly popular vampire franchise has now made $237 million in its first 12 days. It's expected to surpa#s part two, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which grossed $296.6 million when it came out last year.

"'Twilight' dropped less than 50 percent — that's impressive to me," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "That's a really strong hold for a movie that, in its first day, made $68 million."

It's been a strong series of weeks at the box office, especially after a rough start to the summer with movies such as "Shrek Forever After" and "se# and the City 2" not opening to expectations. Next weekend brings "Inception," Christopher Nolan's hugely anticipated first film since the blockbuster "The Dark Knight," which opened on the same weekend two years ago.

"You can't underestimate the importance of momentum in the marketplace," Dergarabedian said. "'The Karate Kid,' 'Toy Story 3,' 'Eclipse' and now 'Despicable Me' — we're on a roll and it feels more like the beginning of the summer than the middle of the summer."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Despicable Me," $60.1 million.

2. "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse," $33.35 million.

3. "Predators," $25.3 million.

4. "Toy Story 3," $22 million.

5. "The Last Airbender," $17.15 million.

6. "Grown Ups," $16.4 million.

7. "Knight and Day," $7.85 million.

8. "The Karate Kid," $5.7 million.

9. "The A-Team," $1.8 million.

10. "Cyrus," $1.4 million.

The[..]ociated Press: 'Despicable Me' tops weekend box office at $60.1M

I love animation movies, but it seems like no matter what animated movie that comes out, lil kids always dominate the theater, been a trend a long time now.. Animation money is where the money is at as a actor, and predator I thought would have made more money.. My theater was packed when I was in there at midnight..

Can't say I wasn't expecting this...

But, we all know it's gonna be a wrap once friday hits...

[pic]

I saw this last night with a friend and her little sisters. It was a good movie.

When a dvdrip comes out, ill look at it.

Its so fluffy!!!

it was so funny had me laughing a lot

pharrell wins

waiting for dvdrip or screener. i am a big movie supporter though, so i may go see this on a weekday for $4.50

I saw this !! a while back (I work for a studio) mannn it was good, I've been wanting to watch it again but haven't had time.

Yea, I saw it last night with my wife, it was hilarious.

took my daughter to see nice flick to do the family thing

When Inception comes out, it's a wrap.

Yea, Despicable Me won't be 1 but it will still make a good amount of money. The Sorcerer's Apprentice will also make a good amount since its out on Wed. instead of Friday. Inception for the win w/ at least 55 mil. over the weekend (3 days). Hopefully.

[pic] dude stays winning man, I know he made some cake for scoring this.

I'm predicting 80 million...

Can't wait for Inception, I'm definitely thinking midnight showing.

The funny thing is all I do is go to midnight showings now lol

Wow I didn't see this one coming. Movie looks like crap. [pic]

In 3 days? That's way too much considering what it is. If it did that much then I'd be surprised but I won't be mad at it though [pic].