‘Dinosaur’ Gives Disney Weekend to Roar About

It has a long way to go to break even on its $170-million-to-$200-million production budget, but Disney’s new animation extravaganza of a movie, “Dinosaur,” got off to a roaring start as it raked in $38.9 million during its maiden weekend. The film delivered Disney’s third-highest opening for an animated film behind last year’s “Toy Story 2” ($57.4 million) and 1994’s “The Lion King” ($40.9 million).

The movie received mixed reviews, with critics lauding its digital animation while tossing barbs at its thin story line, but in the end moviegoers were attracted by the Disney name.

“Disney animation is made of Teflon,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. “Reviewers can say whatever they want, but there is a built-in audience for Disney animation.”

The low-budget, raunchy youth comedy “Road Trip” opened impressively, taking in $15.5 million. However, Columbia Pictures’ dance-themed film “Center Stage” struggled with only $3.3 million, while DreamWorks’ new Woody Allen comedy, “Small Time Crooks,” debuted in seventh place with $3.88 million.

The John Travolta sci-fi film “Battlefield Earth” plummeted in its second week, grossing $3.9 million over the weekend. “Gladiator” became the second film released this year to surpass $100 million at the domestic box office.

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release

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1. “Dinosaur” $38.9 3,257 1 (Disney) $38.9 $11,930 2. “Gladiator” $19.7 3,041 3 (DreamWorks) $103.1 $6,494 3. “Road Trip” $15.5 2,530 1 (DreamWorks) $15.5 $6,120 4. “U-571” $4.6 2,736 5 (Universal) $64.4 $1,695 5. “Frequency” $4.3 2,202 4 (New Line) $30.4 $1,971 6. “Battlefield Earth” $3.9 3,307 2 (Warner Bros.) $18.3 $1,187 7. “Small Time Crooks” $3.88 865 1 (DreamWorks) $3.88 $4,486 8. “Center Stage” $3.3 1,506 1 (Sony/Columbia) $3.3 $2,160 9. “Where the Heart Is” $2.8 2,147 4 (Fox) $25.6 $1,291 10. “Flinstones/ Viva Rock Vegas” $2.5 2,692 4 (Universal) $27.8 $945

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.