'UP',Soars For $68M; #2 'Night At The Museum' Sequel $25M; #3 'Drag Me To Hell' $16M; 'Star Trek' Becomes 1st Film Of 2009 Past $200

SATURDAY PM / SUNDAY AM: Hollywood planned a 2nd straight weekend friendly for family filmgoers who have pent-up demand, and it was a wild success with the two top family films placing #1 and #2. With 20% of K-through-12 out of school Friday, Pixar/Disney's 10th pic and first 3-D movie, Up, was able to get a jump on the domestic box office with busy matinees from 1,534 3-D theaters -- a record -- and a total of 3,766 theatres total. So the unusual toon starring the voice of Ed Asner and receiving rave revenues opened to around $21.4 million Friday and $26M Saturday for a $68M weekend with Sunday estimates. Hollywood estimates for its Fri-Sat-Sun grosses started at $55M, went up to $60M based on matinees, but didn't expect it to top 2008 Wall-E's $63M. Instead, Up finished close to the $70M opening weekends of Pixar's top 2 computer animation movies, 2004 The Incredibles and 2003 Finding Nemo. (Not adjusted for inflation or ticket prices or the 3-D premium prices.) Up also bested DreamWorks' first 3-D film Monsters v Aliens which opened at $59.3M over 2009 Spring Break. Disney has been marketing Up as a four-quadrant movie that hits all bases -- from comedy to adventure, and Pixar’s most emotional film thus far. It worked, although some parents are emailing me it's too dark for young children.

The other newcomer should come in 3rd: Universal's subtly titled PG-13 horror pic Drag Me To Hell from Sam Raimi's devilish direction debuted at $7M Friday and $5.5M Saturday for a $16M weekend from 2,508 venues. Despite its counter  programming, the pic's box office potential fell short of The Strangers which Uni opened to $20M last year on this date.

But 2nd place went to 20th Century Fox's Night Of The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian which held well because of Friday's big matinees and its still huge release into 4,101 theaters. It finished down only 54% from its #1 opening last weekend. The sequel starring Ben Stiller made $7.4M Friday and $10.2M Saturday for a $25M weekend.

Warner Bros' disappointing Terminator 4: Salvation keeps sinking: it was #4 with $5.1M (-64%) and $6.5M Saturday from 3,602 dates for a $15.2M weekend (-64%) when analysts were expecting $20M. 

Followed by Paramount's Star Trek in No. 5 with $3.5M Friday and $5.3M Saturday from 3,507 plays for another $12.7M weekend. The JJ Abrams' franchise reboot last night became the first movie of 2009 to pass $200M domestic.

Imagine/Sony's Angels & Demons placed 6th with $3.4M Friday and $5M Saturday from 3,464 runs for a $11.5M weekend.

NF