MUMBAI: Outpacing expectations, Walt Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2 grossed $ 68 million in its first weekend beating the $60.1 million debut of the original Cars. Overseas, the Pixar sequel grossed $42.9 million from 18 markets for a worldwide debut of $110.9 million. Heading into the weekend, tracking had suggested an opening of $50 million to $55 million for Cars 2.
On the other hand, the Cameron Diaz comedy Bad Teacher grossing $ 31 million overpowered Universal’s Bridesmaids that grossed $26.1 million. Made at a cost of $20 million, the film earned another $12.9 million internationally for a global opening of $49.3 million.
In North America, Bad Teacher edged out Green Lantern for the No. 2 spot. The latter fell a steep 66 per cent in its second weekend by grossing $18.4 million. Disney said that a contributing factor to the film’s success was the popularity of Pixar titles.
On the other hand, rival studios pointed out that Cars 2 dropped 10 per cent from Friday to Saturday, suggesting that bad reviews, unusual for a Pixar title, may have had an impact. However, Disney said that the drop had to do with the fact that most kids are out of school now with Friday playing more like a Saturday. Opening on the same weekend last year, Toy Story 3 also dropped 10 per cent on Saturday.
At the international box office, Cars 2 grossed $9.3 million in Russia and in Australia, the film beat Kung Fu Panda 2 by grossing $5.2 million.
