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Box Office Buzz: Up Soars to #1 of 2009 [UPDATE]

Box Office News UP

If you thought Up was done breaking records, you were way wrong!

Pixar’s 10th feature just broke through a huge barrier: the $250 million mark! That means it has surpassed Cars, Toy Story 2 and Star Trek this weekend. "Star Trek?" you say. Yes, that means that Up is not only the highest grossing 3D movie ever but also the highest grossing movie of 2009 in the US! Even more impressive, it’s only been 4 weeks into release!

What a milestone! Unfortunately, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is right on its heels, grossing $200 million in just 5 days. The good thing is that we know it’s not all about the money (up there with 97% on Rotten Tomatoes) and 250+ million is more than enough to keep the Mouse happy with John Lasseter and company. That is, considering it’s the 8th highest grossing animated movie and 7th highest grossing CGI movie ever…

Now let’s come into perspective with the highly successful Pixar instead of competitors which have hits here and bombs there. Right now Up is hovering around the number 4 spot in the studio’s canon. Better yet, it’s about $10 million away from the #2 spot which is claimed by The Incredibles.

Even though Up kept going strong, it did get hit harder than usual by the big robot sequel. Here’s the breakdown: Friday and Sunday both brought in an estimated $4 million with a $5 million Saturday bringing in an estimated $13 million weekend. If the week keeps up how I think it will, Up should surpass Monsters, Inc. by next Friday.

What’s that I hear? Oh, of course, it’s the sound of celebration and maybe a few regretful sighs from the analysts. Congratulations, Pixar!

Update: Actuals are in! This weekend’s total is $250,234,554 comprised of $3.9 mil. on Friday, $5.0 mil on Saturday and $4.0 mil. on Sunday.

(via Box Office Mojo)

Last modified: June 28, 2009