“Horton Hears a Who,” the Dr. Seuss adaptation starring wacky comedian Jim Carrey as Horton the Elephant set a box office record this weekend, opening at No. 1 with $45.1 million in North America as the year’s biggest release.
Children across the U. S. and Canada crowded to see the animated film “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!” thus giving it the year’s biggest box-office opening with $45.1 million.
The Blue Sky Studios project, produced by 20th Century Fox, is directed by Jimmy Hayward (animator on “Toy Story,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo”) and Steve Martino and has Jim Carrey voice Horton the Elephant and Steve Carell voice The Mayor of Who-ville.
This is Carrey’s second Dr. Seuss adaptation, after the live-action film “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” which opened with $55.1 million in 2000. “The Grinch” went on to gather $260 million in U. S. ticket sales; what with spring break giving kids around the country extra free time, “Horton” has a good chance of reaching similar heights.
Lending his voice to the rubbery elephant has brought Carrey his greatest debut at the box office since 2003’s “Bruce Almighty,” which took $67.9 million in its opening weekend.
Second to “Horton” is last weekend’s number one, the Warner Bros. adventure film “10,000 BC,” which slipped into second place with a $16.4 million take.
“Never Back Down,” from Summit Entertainment, debuted in third place, with a nice $8.6 million gross, while Walt Disney Pictures’ “College Road Trip” earned another $7.9 million at No. 4. Sony Pictures’ political thriller “Vantage Point” is still in the charts and ranking well too, at No. 5, with ticket sales worth $5.4 million in its fourth week.
British film “The Bank Job,” starring Jason Statham and Saffron Burroughs, ranked seventh, with a $4.9 million gross. It was followed by new release “Doomsday,” a British sci-fi film which earned only $4.7 million.
Will Ferrell’s sports spoof “Semi-Pro” was at eight, bringing New Line another $3 million in ticket sales, while Columbia Pictures historic romance “The Other Boleyn Girl” followed at No. 9 with $2.9 million. Family flick “The Spiderwick Chronicles” rounded up the top ten with $2.4 million.
