ROTTEN TOMATOES: Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Ratatouille" Becomes Top Chef of Box Office

Box Office Guru Wrapup: "Ratatouille" Becomes Top Chef of Box Office

by Gitesh Pandya | July 01, 2007

Summary

Pixar scored its eighth consecutive number one opening with the animated feature "Ratatouille" which easily topped the North American box office chart this weekend. Bruce Willis got the action going in second place with the debut of his new shoot-em-up sequel "Live Free or Die Hard." Back to Article

(1-30 of 30 posts) | Reply

Karthik Selvakumar writes:
on Jul 01 2007 09:17 PM

I still have yet to see A Mighty Heart. Seen the rest though, Ratatouille is magnificent.

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Sputnik99 writes:
on Jul 01 2007 09:20 PM

I saw both Ratatouille and Live Free or Die Hard, and I must say that Rat has a stronger story, and IMO should last longer, at least until Harry Potter is out for a couple weeks. Still, LFODH is a blast and will definitely keep Rat's numbers down for a while. Plus, Transformers is going to kersmash both movies in the week ahead. But no records will be broken by Transformers because there is too much competition.

There was a lot of crap in May and early June. Here comes the good stuff.

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Krooked writes:
on Jul 01 2007 09:37 PM

I'm sorry RT, but that was the least creative news title.

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starscream69 writes:
on Jul 01 2007 09:40 PM

I love what i am about to write on here...o.k....here it goes.....I TOLD YOU SOO. I called it. I told everyone ratatouille was going to be one of pixars worst, and i was right. i havent seen it yet, so im not downing the story or anything, but i said from the get go that it would be one of the lowest grossing pixar films ever, and i was right, its the second worst opening, just ahead of A bug life. All you Brad Bird lovers can put that in ur pipe and smoke it.

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iavisible23 writes:
on Jul 01 2007 10:15 PM

In reply to this comment (#872032)
who gives a crap? It was still a great movie and one of Pixar's best. Box office openings don't mean much.

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aknddon3 writes:
on Jul 01 2007 11:28 PM

In reply to this comment (#872030)
What is the crap you are talking about? Because the only crap i think you are talking about is Knocked Up and 28 Weeks later.

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Silverevilchao writes:
on Jul 02 2007 12:17 AM

In reply to this comment (#872032)
[b]Sales =/= Greatness[/b]
You sound like one of the guys who would go see Daddy Day Camp just because it got decent sales numbers.

Also, look at Shrek 3. Crap, yet it sold. Pirates 2 (not a typo)? Crap. Spider-Man 3? Crap. Nancy Drew? Crap, crap, CRAP. All of which sold like a bunch of hotcakes because guillible people like you rely on the sales numbers to dictate which movies they're going to see.

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nogard46 writes:
on Jul 02 2007 02:02 AM

[b]I think people are a lil tired of comp anime[/b]
seems like every other week is another computer cartoon movie. I'm not saying they are all bad, buts its getting very tiresome.

Saw Die Hard and wow that was a fun ride! Glad to see McClane back! it was a pretty good flick kinda like a good appetizer to the real meal, the main dish, the 1 pound 1 inch steak I'm about to get called TRANSFORMERS!!!!

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Gimy writes:
on Jul 02 2007 05:25 AM

Rat is EXACTLY what i expected from seeing their last extended trailer before the movie opened. its good but...NOT great. the hype is overrated and its just well...kinda boring. its not bad, but the whole "greatest pixar movie ever" talk is bs. its not funny and really...not cute. the only time its REALLY REALLY good is when the rats are all on the screen and you'd think, hey...RAT MOVIE...that'll happen alot, right? nope. maybe 10 minutes. the human aspect ruins it...

happy to see 16 blocks, the sequel, not do that well. pg-13 for a john mclain movie is as logical as a nc-17 disney flick. it'll do nothing this week with Transformers coming out so maybe(wishful thinking) the sh3t new sequels to the ol' classics routine will slow down

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Mr. Kong writes:
on Jul 02 2007 05:46 AM

I'm surprised Ratatouille didn't do better, but after that fall Evan Almighty is going to blow at the box office. Though it's doing somewhat solid, 1408 deserves better; it's an excellent movie.

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~*Admiral Snowstorm*~ writes:
on Jul 02 2007 05:57 AM

I think it's great that good movies are winning the Box Office.

Also, I don't see how $47.2 million is in any way 'weak'. Except in comparison to the other Pixar movies, that is, but that's still a respectable number for a debut. And odds are, it's going to keep raking in money for weeks to come. Transformers will put a little dent in it, perhaps, but then again, the two movies appeal to different audiences. I don't see Ratatouille leaving the Top Five for at least three weeks.

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selke99 writes:
on Jul 02 2007 06:03 AM

I saw Ratatouille and I too thought it was great. But in terms of strict financial numbers, I think Pixar and Bird may be straddling the line between entertaining adults and kids. I thought Ratatouille and to a lesser extent Incredibles both seemed to be written with more adult driven dialogue set to animation and less kids humor, even though I liked them both immensely. Ratatouille didn't have many "kids laughing out loud" moments, but I was amazed it could keep kids' attention for almost 2 hrs, and some people applauded at the end. This may be a reason why this Pixar movie may not make as much as its predecessors, along with trying to push a movie about a rat that takes place mostly in one setting, plus the strong cometition this summer. Then again, Shrek is able to gross plenty with numerous pop culture references written in, but the story revolves around an ogre and a freakin donkey. I too hope it has strong legs and is able to last through Transformers and Harry Potter. It is a true quality film.

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synergyred writes:
on Jul 02 2007 06:09 AM

Good for Ratatouille! Yes it's not going to do as well as Finding Nemo, but Pixar movies (unlike Most Blockbusters) doesn't exactly tend to go down 60+% in their second week. They tend to have more of a longevity. I think that good word of mouth will bring in a lot of people, and not to mention that it's really the only decent kid movie out right now. Some may disagree with me when it comes to Surf's Up, I will give you that, but not too many kids are going to see Nancy Drew (or, as I call it "Hollywood ruins another one of my childhood loves"). Transformers might take away a little in the 10-year-old boys category (not to mention older geeks too) and Harry Potter will make a dent but as the movies have been getting darker and darker, I think parents might opt to take the six year olds to something a little more kid-friendly.

Then again I saw a five year old at a nine-o'clock showing of Underworld 2 so what do I know about kids.

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bigbrother writes:
on Jul 02 2007 06:13 AM

In reply to this comment (#883163)
emmmm, wasn't it the best opening for a Diehard movie ever? From all acounts I've heard the PG-13 doesn't damage the movie at all. Of course I can't say from personal experience for another month, but I'm not bitter...(Under his breath, stupid queen and her stupid licensing laws)

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Super Simba writes:
on Jul 02 2007 07:26 AM

I thought Rat was a terrific film, but with so much competition and bad CGI kids movies being released what seems like every other day, I was expecting it not to have as great an opening as other Pixar flicks have had. But whatever - lower than average box office intake doesn't affect the quality of the movie. Once again, great job Pixar!

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IMAmoose24 writes:
on Jul 02 2007 07:33 AM

Love to see Pirates III beating out Spidy III for the top grossing movie of the year. Spiderman 3 was some shite

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kendrith1975 writes:
on Jul 02 2007 07:41 AM

In reply to this comment (#883163)
I think you are the only person here who think DIE HARD 4 did not do well. What are you trying to measure here? Will it really do nothing this week against TRANSFORMERS? The last DIE HARD sequel grossed only marginally more than 100 million 12 years ago, and DIE HARD 4 got great reviews for an action sequel, not to mention that it skewed older (its audiences not rushing out on opening weekend). It still manages to snag 33.2 million after business dilution from Wednesday and Thursday. So even if TRANSFORMERS come in and score big, DIE HARD 4 will still ended up grossing more than DIE HARD 3 even after ticket price adjustment because the word of mouth will be there to sustain longevity.

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kendrith1975 writes:
on Jul 02 2007 07:47 AM

In reply to this comment (#883170)
In terms of blocksbuster 3quels, SPIDER MAN 3 is the better reviewed among the 3, with the highest business retention compare to its predecessor, and the highest grossing in North America, if not world-wide. It is not too shabby.

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brettswiz writes:
on Jul 02 2007 07:52 AM

[b]Live Free or Die Hard was great...[/b]
had a blast watching this film. Definitely the most fun I've had watching an action movie at the theathers since probably Spidey 2. I think Die Hard will do fine this week against the transformers. Tho both are action packed, i see two different audiences at both.

Can't wait til 8 tonight. I want to see at least 5 robots blow up =)

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Mr. Kong writes:
on Jul 02 2007 08:09 AM

In reply to this comment (#883165)
Agreed. 47.2 is excellent for an opening.

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unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Jul 02 2007 08:54 AM

I'm going to try to see Ratatouille later today. Die Hard was great though, one of the years best, nice to have McClane back with a lot of sweet action.

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Merlin235 writes:
on Jul 02 2007 09:09 AM

Die Hard was a lot of fun. It was actually pretty funny too. Ratatouille will have good legs, and should go on to gross quite a bit.

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Merlin235 writes:
on Jul 02 2007 09:12 AM

In reply to this comment (#883170)
I will be interested to see which movie grosses the most domestically. It won't be Pirates, that's for sure. But with 'only' 335 million in the bank, some suprise flick could come and steal the title. My guess is Harry Potter has a good chance of besting 335 million. The interesting thing is, with movies grossing so much more internationally now than they are domestically, I'm sure we'll see a lot less 'Americanized' movies coming out of Hollywood in the future.

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Crenshaw writes:
on Jul 02 2007 09:52 AM

[b]Some people need a healthy serving of PERSPECTIVE[/b]
Sometime the posters drive me nuts...

- Ratatouille got #1, but it "only" made $47M and so it's a "failure."

- It's too grown up, and needs to be more kid-friendly, but when Pixar does make a purely kid-friendly movie (Cars) it's too kid-friendly and therefore a "failure."

...and so on.

Although it's natural, I think too much effort is spent on comparing Pixar's work to itself and not to all the craptastic stuff out there. They are like Hitchcock - so good that the only way you can truly find a fault is to compare it to their body of work. Even Hitchcock's weakest films are great, and I say the same thing goes with Pixar. Everyone complains about Cars like it was this rotten movie. But it still got a 76% on this site and that's more than most movies get - and certainly more than most "kids'" movies get.

Ratatouille was a masterpiece - a movie that truly is for people of all ages. I saw it with my wife and 2 boys (5 and 7 years old) in a crowded theater packed with kids and their parents (and plenty of couples and groups without kids). The laughs were exactly where they were supposed to be - 1/3 were mostly the kids laughing, 1/3 were mostly the adults laughing, and 1/3 had everyone laughing. And all the kids sat still and paid attention - any parent will tell you that's a tough thing to get an entire room full of kids to do. The film is funny and touching and clever and well paced and has a great message and it has something that everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, can enjoy.

It's no accident that the food critic, appropriately named Ego, wanted to be served some perspective. He got just that in the movie, and it changed his life for the better. The parallels are easy to draw. Films, like food, should be enjoyed and savored and taken as a whole - all the flavors melded together into a sum greater than its parts. If you spend your whole life looking for nits to pick, you end up in a dark, coffin shaped room with a skull-like typewriter as your only friend.

I'll say it again, Ratatouille is a masterpiece, worthy of a Best Picture nod. And not for the animation category.

But that's just my perspective.

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GhostU writes:
on Jul 02 2007 09:57 AM

[b]Jaded film-goer[/b]
It takes a lot to get this jaded film-goer excited about going to a movie theater. I am actually excited about going to see Transformers. It could impact the box-office for both Die Hard Again And Again and Ratawhatever. They both sound like solid, entertaining movies, but Transformers will likely draw from both of their demographics.

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~*Admiral Snowstorm*~ writes:
on Jul 02 2007 10:16 AM

In reply to this comment (#883178)
This is just about the best post I've ever read and I agree with it fully.

Especially about Cars. Yes it's not Pixar's greatest, but it's still a pretty good movie nonetheless.

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chilon73 writes:
on Jul 02 2007 11:12 AM

[b]if you want too see not just a good movie but grea[/b]
I my self thought that, die hard would be a little less than what i expected. however, it's 4 days later from the day I have saw it. I'm thinking about going too see it again. It's hands down the best action film of the summer. I was dissappointed with the movie fantastic 4 and spider man this year.... They we're o.k.! However, after seeing die hard you will know that your money was well, well, spent. Transformers better be good, because right now, it's not number one anymore in my mind. This is the film too beat!!

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brettswiz writes:
on Jul 02 2007 02:38 PM

In reply to this comment (#883181)
I agree 100%. I don't know if it was just the mood i was in, the way the world is today, or just the movies i have seen this summer, but this was the most fun I have had watching an action movie in a long, long time. Hopefully Transformers will be right along that level, but i still believe this and possibly Knocked Up are the two best movies this summer (that i have seen of course, hopefully I will get around to seeing ratatouille.)

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Mr. Kong writes:
on Jul 02 2007 04:52 PM

In reply to this comment (#883176)
Agreed. It had almost too much action though.

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kendrith1975 writes:
on Jul 02 2007 07:15 PM

In reply to this comment (#883181)
There were a lot of hype surrounding the TRANSFORMERS, and how it will demolish the box office competition, but given Michael Bay's track record, there are a lot to worry about. At least its reviews are not too bad compare to his past efforts, but it still cannot match those of DIE HARD 4 as of this moment. TRANSFORMERS will open not too shabbily, and then will probably have the legs of WAR OF THE WORLDS. I am predicting a 68 million opening from Friday to Sunday this coming week, as opening mid-week business will seriously dilute its opening weekend's strength.

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