‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Takes Down ‘Alice’ at US Box Office

Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” ended its three-week run at the number-one spot of the US box office with the release of Disney’s animated 3D “How to Train Your Dragon,” with voices by Gerard Butler, America Ferrera and Jay Baruchel. The film took in $43.3 million domestically in its first weekend, sending “Alice” straight to number two, with just a little over $17 million, E! Online informs.

Preliminary numbers show that “How to Train Your Dragon” left competition in the dust, which, again, goes to show that a film in 3D (especially if it happens to be animated as well) is guaranteed to be a success. The same can be concluded by the fact that “Alice” took a plunge in sales by almost a half what with having to give 3D screens to “Dragon.” Unfortunately, the latter movie will go through the same experience next weekend, when “Clash of the Titans” comes out, also in 3D.

“The big-as-life cartoon How to Train Your Dragon topped the weekend box office with an estimated $43.3 million. Hot Tub Time Machine, the stuck-in-the-‘80s John Cusack comedy, debuted in third with a so-so $13.7 million, while the Top 10 bade farewell to Avatar. […] Overall, the $165 million Dragon met expectations, which basically were: Yes, it’ll open No. 1; no, it won’t open nearly as big as DreamWorks’ Monsters vs. Aliens did this time last year. Having lost 3D screens to Dragon, Alice in Wonderland ($17.3 million; $293.1 million overall) saw its three-weekend reign end with a thud – with business down about 50 percent from last weekend. Dragon will receive its karmic payback next weekend when it loses 3D screens to Clash of the Titans,” E! Online also points out.

“In their second weekend, Jennifer Aniston’s and Gerard Butler’s The Bounty Hunter ($12.4 million; $38.8 million overall) enjoyed a better-than-average hold, while Diary of a Wimpy Kid ($10 million; $35.8 million overall) didn’t. Avatar missed the Top 10 for the first time since before Christmas. Even in its decline, it took in another $2 million, and upped its record-breaking domestic total to $740.4 million. Robert Pattinson’s Remember Me ($1.9 million) had a slightly shorter run in the Top 10 than Avatar. Still, even though the romantic weepy only hung with the big boys for two weekends, it made good on its purported budget, grossing $17 million to date,” the same e-zine further says.

Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” held on tight to a position in the first top 10 for another week, bringing in another $3.2 million, while the somewhat critically panned “Repo Men” made only $3 million in ticket sales.