Weekend Box Office: ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ Sets Disney Record

The weekend box office saw the animated family film Wreck-It Ralph climbing to the top of the cinematic pile. According to Indie Wire, the film marks the biggest opening weekend for Disney Animation Studios in the United States.

Studio estimates put the video game-oriented comedy’s three day total at around $49 million. The studio’s previous outing, 2010’s Tangled, made approximately $48 million during the first weekend of release. The Hollywood Reporter explains that the film did particularly well in the Northeast, suggesting that families were looking for something to take their minds off the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Landing in second place was Robert Zemeckis’ Flight, which finds Hollywood veteran Denzel Washington portraying an airline pilot who valiantly prevents his flight from crashing. The film apparently connected with older audiences over the weekend; the drama generated a tidy $25 million at the box office. Given that the movie’s budget came in at around $31 million, the suits at Paramount Pictures should be quite happy with those figures.

This weekend’s other new release, the RZA-directed kung fu movie The Man with the Iron Fists, debuted at number four with $8.2 million in ticket sales. Presented by Quentin Tarantino, the film follows a rogue’s gallery of colorful characters as they attempted to steal treasure from a blacksmith. Box Office Mojo puts the film’s budget around $15 million.

Although the box office enjoyed a healthy weekend thanks to some stronger Hollywood releases, all eyes are currently on director Sam Mendes’ Skyfall. The latest installment in the long-running James Bond franchise cleared $100 million last Thursday. With the addition of this weekend’s totals, the film has enjoyed an impressive $287 million in ticket sales ahead of its Stateside release.

This weekend’s Top 10 has been included below.

1. Wreck-It Ralph – $49,100,000
2. Flight – $25,010,000
3. Argo – $10,245,000
4. The Man with the Iron Fists – $8,219,000
5. Taken 2 – $6,000,000
6. Cloud Atlas – $5,250,000
7. Hotel Transylvania – $4,500,000
8. Paranormal Activity 4 – $4,300,000
9. Here Comes the Boom – $3,600,000
10. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D – $3,300,000

Are you surprised that Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph claimed the top spot at the weekend box office?