It doesn't tank. Instead it easily beat the competition and hit #1 it's opening weekend. :eek: This despite pretty dreadful reviews. It's made on the cheap so I wouldn't be surprised if it already made back it's own cost.
Dan C
http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/feature/weekendboxofficer.html
'Spy Kids 3D' Tops North American Box Office
Sunday July 27 3:54 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Spy Kids 3D: Game Over" beat "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" in a weekend box office derby that pitted the two sequels against each other and the potentially Oscar-bound "Seabiscuit."
According to studio estimates released on Sunday, "Spy Kids," the final case of the sleuthing Cortez family, raked in $32.5 million in North American ticket sales in the three days beginning July 25.
The three-film franchise has generated $230.8 million since 2001 for Dimension Films, a division of Miramax Films. In the latest saga, the two Cortez kids travel inside a 3-D video game to capture a world-destroying villain played by Sylvester Stallone.
Miramax co-chairman Bob Weinstein credited the new sequel's strong finish in a summer movie season that has been rough on sequels to goodwill earned by the first two films.
"When you get the franchise right and (audiences) have such an enjoyable experience, you build a brand name," Weinstein told Reuters. "The 3-D was something fresh. Parents hadn't seen that in a long time and wanted to turn their kids on to it."
Walt Disney Co.'s . "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," a swashbuckling adventure starring Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, hung onto the No. 2 slot with $22.4 million. Last weekend's winner, "Bad Boys II," Martin Lawrence's action-packed buddy comedy, fell to third with $22 million in its second weekend in release by Sony Pictures.
Paramount Pictures' "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life" opened in fourth place with $21.7 million, well below the $47 million debut of the 2001 film that introduced moviegoers to the voluptuous British archeologist made popular in video games.
Wayne Lewellen, Paramount's president of distribution, said stiff box office competition and weaker sales of the new Lara Croft video game may have eroded the film's core fan base.
"We didn't anticipate that the competition level would be quite where it's at." Lewellen said. "This is the first time ever that we've had five movies gross over $20 million on a three-day weekend."
Fifth-place finisher, "Seabiscuit," took in $21.5 million in the most limited release of the weekend's top 10 films, fewer than 2,000 theaters.
The film's distributors at Universal Pictures hope to sustain demand for the true story of a 1930s-era misfit racehorse and the men who made him a champion in theaters through fall to heighten its chances of winning Oscar gold.
A Universal spokesman said exit polling showed "Seabiscuit" was on track to enjoy strong word of mouth recommendation.
Over the weekend, moviegoers shelled out $145.6 million on the top-grossing 12 films, a nearly 10 percent increase over last year's box office totals, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. of Encino, California.
Sony Pictures is a unit of Sony Corp. and Miramax is a unit of Walt Disney Co. Universal Pictures is a unit of Vivendi Universal SA
Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc.