"Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked ass ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:17:07 GMT

The two things about Wall-E that would totally shock me are if the movie is bad and if it doesn't have a weekend that blows Panda out of the water. People have been chompin' to see this movie for MONTHS now. We've been getting requests for merchandise since CHRISTMAS. I may be biased but the buzz I've been hearing for this movie is WAY higher then Ratatouille. People love the little guy and can't wait to see the movie. You just wait. It'll make Iron Man numbers at least...

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked ass ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:24:47 GMT

I think it will be in line with finding nemo and Incredibles opening numbers around 70 million.... Also it has a good chance it retaining those numbers because of fourth of july falling on a weekend... I think it will bring in 270-300 overall , but we will have to wait and see

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked ass ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:49:34 GMT

as a side note whats up with the Mc cain advertisement on the side of the page? is that deliberate or something your host sets up... just kinda weird for a disney fan site

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:50:56 GMT

I am less interested in the financial success of a piece on animation in the theaters than whether it tells a great story or advances animation art. I am now intrigued to see this movie because it was reviewed so well. The trailers seemed like yet another redundant celebrity-voiced-anthropormorphized-cuddly-CG animal adventure. Yet the reviews have convinced me that this must be so much better. The box office numbers don't really matter to my interest or expectation of the film. Ratatouille didn't win the academy award based on its box office numbers. Children are not begging their parents to spend billions on Cars merchandise 2 years after its release based on box office numbers but how memorable the story and characters were. You will see the affection for these movies out rank the obsession with ranking films by their box office receipts. In the survey below lowly Cars even topped high grossing Shrek2. Ratatouille even bested higher box office successes like the Ice Age series, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin. I await Wall-E because the story and animation looks so good not how many people will buy a ticket with me on opening weekend.

Yahoo! users rate the top 30 animated films of all time

DVD Town notes that Yahoo! have tallied their user ratings for animated films in order to come up with a ranked list of the top 30 animated films of all time.

1. Finding Nemo

2. The Lion King

3. The Incredibles

4. Shrek

5. Ratatouille

6. Toy Story

7. Beauty and the Beast

8. Aladdin

9. Spirited Away

10. Monsters, Inc.

11. Cars

12. Shrek 2

13. Enchanted

14. The Little Mermaid

15. Cinderella

16. Princess Mononoke

17. Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas

18. Lady and the Tramp

19. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who

20. Peter Pan

21. Mulan

22. Howl’s Moving Castle

23. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

24. Ice Age

25: Ice Age: The Meltdown

26. The Simpsons Movie

27. Over the Hedge

28. Sleeping Beauty

29. The Jungle Book

30. Bambi

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:51:09 GMT

Wall-E should kick some butt even though KFP turned out to be a very good movie. I'm wonder how movie-goers will respond to how all the people are so terribly obese in the movie.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:43:47 GMT

Joleni, Aol did a top 50 with completely different results, i believe toy story was number one...

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:57:44 GMT

Kung Fu Panda is Dreamwork's best movie to date. That still doesn't threaten Pixar in any way - Dreamworks is not up to that level of creativity and risk-taking. But in KFP, Dreamworks truly has an appealing character that delights both kids and parents. Shrek himself...not so much. He's funny and original, but gross - and that limits his appeal except to very small children who laugh at fart jokes (or who have been brainwashed into doing so by too much viewing of Nickelodeon). But who doesn't love a cute chubby panda? BTW, my favorite character in KFP isn't the Panda, it's the Leopard. He truly kicked butt, and he had more depth than most villians. I wouldn't mind seeing him again in any sequel to KFP. And more Monkey too, since Jackie Chan TRULY kicks butt and should have had a larger role IMO.

As for Wall*E , I cannot WAIT to see this. Every clip I've seen has been incredible. Pixar needn't worry about Dreamworks as long as it continues to come up with original, well-thought-out concepts and characters. And technically, of course, it blows everybody else out of the water.

BTW, the best part of Panda was the 2D opening sequence. Wish the whole film had been done that way...

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:18:41 GMT

Kung Fu Panda I would suspect is drawing more kids than adults, whereas Pixar films tend to draw in both. Therefore, I believe that Wall*E will do better in the long haul.

I haven't seen Panda yet. And it is one of the first Dreamworks movies that I have any desire to see. And one of the few that I feel safe in taking my small children to see.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:47:08 GMT

Lighttragic, I am not suggesting that I believe the Yahoo survey is the absolute truth on animated films. I was just trying to rebel against the notion that box office receipts the best way to judge the success of a film. JHM has an obession to point out Cars and Ratatouille have under performed. I think longevity or a film getting label as a 'classic' is more based on story and character- Not gross receipts.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:02:24 GMT

jedited, according to Nikki Finke at DeadlineHollywoodDailly.com, Panda actually attracted more adults than kids and skewed heavily toward the 18-40 demographic. In other words, it drew in both like Pixar usually does.

Really, I don't think it's right to judge one based on the other. Kung Fu Panda should be judged based on its own merits as a film, not on whether it does better then Wall-E. Also vice versa. Different films. Different stories. Different companies. Both just happen to be CGI animated. Whatever.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:09:18 GMT

understandable joleni im just pointing out that a similar survey exists but with different results on how people gauge an animated classic.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:41:40 GMT

I was originally put off by the trailer. I just got to see it tonight and it was excellent. The trailer led me to believe there was a lot of "gross out" humor and I was expecting something like "Open Season". It couldn't have been classier for a animated comedy. Very little gross stuff and the story, jokes and writing were top notch. I come out of a lot of films complaining about the editing. This film moved fast and it didn't seem like there was one wasted scene. My congratulations to Dreamworks.

The theater I saw it in tonight, Monday night, was packed.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:49:09 GMT

I just saw the 3.20 min sampling from Wall-E. Wow! So much personality. I hope to see Kung-Fu Panda soon too. Great to see lots of good animation happening.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:25:06 GMT

I saw KFP over the weekend and thought it was very well made and a good story.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:38:47 GMT

A rising tide lifts all boats. Let's hope that we keep seeing good animated films coming out of the US for years to come...and so my friends who are animators have steady work, too. Makes me sick that some of the most talented people on earth aren't making films now, but grateful that others are.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:04:05 GMT

About Wall-E...I've heard things...nothing in stone...just from way deep cover types...there is...concern. Hope they're wrong.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:27:42 GMT

I don't get a vicarious thrill out of counting other people's money. Naturally I hope that I enjoy the movie, along with the rest of my family. I doubt if either one of these films will have a problem turning a profit.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 23:58:46 GMT

Really, Jerry? I've heard the exact opposite.

I hope my guys are right!

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:22:05 GMT

Kung Fu Panda is a very enjoyable flick (although I called every plot point even before it happened), but WALL-E is simply spectacular.

re: "Kung Fu Panda" 's opening weekend grosses really kicked butt ... but here comes "WALL-E"

Jim Hill — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:01:51 GMT

Re Panda drawing more adults than kids.....has anyone considered the fact that the trend in big cities (where most of the box-office is these days with multiplexes, more concentrated population, and more and more of the small-town "neighborhood" theaters that were independent of chains folding under financial pressure from big chains and home pay-per-view/DVD/online).....are the home of SMALLER families and more one-child couples these days? Send two parents to the movies with their one kid and...whaddya know? More "adult" tickets sold. Also there are more teens going to animated films and 20-somethings, and of course, that's Jack Black's audience and why he's a draw for this film to skew older, too. Demographics sometimes count...and whether Panda is a standout in this regard or the beginning of an ever-increasing trend for animated film audience age ratios remains to be seen.

‘Wall-E’: Best Pixar Movie Ever?

Jim Hill — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:35:53 GMT

And could this be the movie that reverses Pixar's box-office decline?