'Tower Heist' Debuts Low at $25M, Finishes 2nd to "Puss in Boots'
"Tower Heist" broke into theaters with disappointing results this weekend: Universal's caper comedy grossed only $25 million in North America -- $10 million less than some outside box-office watchers had predicted.
The Ben Stiller-Eddie Murphy movie debuted in second place at the box office, behind DreamWorks Animation's "Puss in Boots." The "Shrek" spinoff took $33 million in its second weekend in release -- an extremely strong hold, considering it opened to $34 million.
New Line's stoner comedy "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" bowed at third place, grossing a soft $13 million.
With only a 3 percent drop from last weekend, "Puss in Boots" performed extraordinarily well -- especially on a weekend that was 23 percent down compared to the same weekend last year.
Anne Globe, the DreamWorks Animation marketing chief, told TheWrap Sunday that the 97 percent hold is the strongest she's ever seen.
"It's probably the best hold ever, honestly, for a movie in wide release," she said.
And she noted that DreamWorks always planned a two-weekend opening strategy.
She said the movie has grossed more than $75 million "after just 10 days, and to have this kind of momentum now, going into the holiday play period with Veterans Day coming up next weekend and then heading into Thanksgiving ... that was always our plan."
More to come...
Related Articles:
Universal Caves, Abandons 'Tower Heist' VOD Scheme
Drew Barrymore, Eddie Murphy Top Forbes' 'Most Overpaid' List
