`Ratatouille' claws way to head of pack - The Pixar film about a rat chef is not a record breaker at $47.2million, but it's not small potatoes either.
It wasn't the home run launch of Pixar's biggest successes, but "Ratatouille" left Walt Disney Co.'s Pixar Animation Studios with an enviable Hollywood streak: eight movies, eight hits.
The G-rated tale of a young rat who dreams of becoming one of France's finest chefs took in $47.2 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales to easily rank No. 1 for the weekend, according to Sunday's studio estimates.
The 20th Century Fox thriller "Live Free or Die Hard," starring Bruce Willis, placed second with an estimated $33.2 million. Michael Moore's "Sicko" had a healthy second week, cracking the top 10 despite a limited theater count.
"Ratatouille," directed by Brad Bird (who also wrote the screenplay), had the lowest Pixar opening since "A Bug's Life" in 1998. But Disney said its stellar reviews and summer play time set it up for a strong run.
"We look at this as a 10-day opening weekend," said Chuck Viane, Disney's distribution president. "This is a film for anybody from 6 to 96, and in a couple of days everyone is going to be sitting around picnic tables talking about 'Ratatouille.' "
The film has 95% positive ratings on review aggregation websites RottenTomatoes.com and MetaCritic.com.
Still, some box-office analysts call it a tough sell with kids because of its rodent hero and the relatively exotic subject of French cooking.
Pixar's previous film, last summer's "Cars," opened at $60.1 million domestically and Bird's previous feature, 2004's "The Incredibles," launched at more than $70 million.
Fox expects "Live Free or Die Hard," which opened Wednesday and grossed an estimated $48.2 million in its first five days, to also hold up well.
The stunt-heavy thriller has garnered surprisingly positive reviews, and attendee exit survey results were "the best we've seen since 'Speed,' " said Bert Livingston, senior vice president of distribution at Fox.
It had the highest opening in the four-film "Die Hard" series -- although 12 years have passed since the last one, "Die Hard With a Vengeance."
Many viewers weren't born when Willis first appeared as hard-charging cop John McClane in 1988.
Fox aimed the film at a younger audience, earning a PG-13 rating instead of the usual R and teaming Willis with co-star Justin Long, who plays the cool guy in the Apple computer commercials.
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