Ratatouille!
Hi there!
Hope you are all going out to see Ratatouille this weekend.
First up, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, Ratatouille made 16 Million on Friday, which is lower than all the Pixar movie's opening day numbers, save for Toy Story, and Bug's Life (Toy Story 2 made 22, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles made 20, Cars made 19, Monster's Inc made 17, Bug's Life made 13, and Toy Story made 11). Depending on how they do this weekend, they can still make a decent sum before Transformers comes and steamrolls everything next week.
[Update] The weekend estimates are in. Ratatouille takes in an estimated $47 Million in its first 3 days - Only Toy Story and A Bug's Life opened to a weaker start (29 and 33 Million respectively). All the rest of Pixar's films have made over 60 million in its opening weekend.
Of course, to counter that assessment, With that opening, it has the 5th biggest opening for a G-Rated movie (The top 4 are all Pixar films as well). Yes, this means that Ratatouille is expected to gross more than the Lion King did in its opening weekend.
Also, check out this pretty great interview with Brad Bird.
For those looking for high-res images from Ratatouille, check out this Press Kit.
I got a chance to see Ratatouille again yesterday, this time at Hollywood's Disney-Owned El Capitan Theatre.
Inside the Theatre:
A 10 minute musical live performance before the film (!) - Great for kids no doubt.
The ceiling of the lobby of the El Capitan.
Also, I highly recommend check out the Ratatouille soundtrack by Michael Giacchino. A great animation score to boot and definitely worth picking up.
You might be wondering where all the animation news has gone. I've actually still kept posting it, just in a subtle and more direct manner at the left, under the "News from the Grapevine" section. If I have commentary or anything to add to the news, I'll post about it for sure. However, if you're just looking for straight up news, make sure to keep your eye on that section of the site. For those viewing my blog via RSS, you won't be able to access these posts on my main feed. The feed you should subscribe to for this is here.
3 comments:
I just went to see "Ratatouille" earlier today and am happy to report that this is the most satisfying animated feature for me since "The Iron Giant". I'd add "The Incredibles" in there too as third runner up, so I think I'd have to congratulate Brad Bird on his ability to consistently make films that genuinely entertain me, when so many animated films by other filmmakers have failed to in recent years.
I know everybody talks about "story" as being so important in animation, yet I'd have to add characterization as being equally important to me, if not moreso. Rather than sink to the level of other recent animated features with their ironic sitcom humour and jokey, wisecracking dialogue, this film dares to show genuine humour through rich, warm portrayals of real personalities relating to each other onscreen. This film has all the bases covered in my opinion: story, characterization, appealing design, lush colour palette and even a melodic, delightul musical score. I'm just in awe of the sheer craftsmanship at every level that goes into these films helmed by Mr. Bird. I have to believe that at the heart of each one of his films is a visionary with genuine good taste!
Going back to the musical score - I too picked up the soundtrack CD the other day prior to seeing the film. I agree with you, Alan, that this score by Michael Giacchino is an excellent accompaniment to the visuals. I'm actually planning to write something more about this on my own blog in the next few days.
I hope that "Ratatouille" finds a huge audience, as it really is such a work of art by all those involved in its creation. I suspect that, even if its opening weekend does not reach Studio expectations, that "Ratatouille" is likely to benefit more than other recent animated features from repeat business. I know that I will definitely be seeing it at least once more in the theatre (maybe twice) before it is eventually released on DVD. And for me, a repeat viewing of anything theatrically is a very rare thing these days. My congrats to the filmmakers!
I saw the advanced screening a couple weeks ago and was astonished by the films excellence. It's a beauty.
ps that theater is amazing.
i've been looking forward to this movie for more than a year -- ever since i started seeing drawings on this blog... and i'm happy to say it *more* than lived up to my expectations. i'm also happy to say that, as a person whose avocation is cooking, it really was every cook's hopes and aspirations on film. and, completely inspired, i'm going to Paris in november.
hope you're enjoying ComicCon -- i love the site.
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