AN ‘INCREDIBLES’ DEBUT OF HEROIC PROPORTIONS

“The Incredibles,” Brad Bird’s offbeat superhero comedy, demolished the competition in its first weekend out, taking in an estimated $70.7 million at the box office. Propelled by a tailwind of rave reviews, it is the biggest three-day opening for a film in Walt Disney Co.’s history.

The latest offering from Pixar Animation Studios, the $145-million movie turns the genre on its head with angst-ridden protagonists (played by Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter and Samuel L. Jackson) who would be at home on “Oprah.” Wrapping an everyday tale of mid-age crisis in a cloak of cutting-edge computer graphics, the movie broke out of the traditional family-film niche.

“The audience was split 50-50 between men and women, but the important figure for us was that 40% of the box office came from non-family business,” said Dennis Rice, studio spokesman.

No surprise, observes Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations. Pixar is the “closest thing in the industry to a sure thing.” The company’s previous movies -- “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “Finding Nemo” -- all opened in the top spot. “Incredibles” also gave the studio its biggest single day with $29.4 million on Saturday.

The movie opened in 3,933 theaters, averaging $17,970 per screen. While the debut was no match for the animated record-holder “Shrek 2,” which opened at $108 million in May, it topped “Finding Nemo,” which took in $70.3 million during its first weekend.

The timing was propitious, Dergarabedian notes. The only other major new release was Paramount Pictures’ “Alfie,” an R-rated romantic comedy. With decidedly mixed reviews, the film took in a meager $6.5 million for a $2,934 per-screen average, putting it in fifth place.

“Ray,” in the No. 2 spot, held well in its second weekend, dropping 31% to $13.8 million, bringing its total to $39.8 million.

The “Incredibles’ ” timing is also good given the box office drought.

Only one weekend since late August has been up compared to last year. Revenues are up 1.43% from 2003, but attendance is down 2%.

Inexpensive horror films continued to make the most of their moment. No. 3 “The Grudge,” which cost $10 million, made an estimated $13.5 million this weekend, bringing its box office take to $89.6 million. Meanwhile “Saw,” costing $1 million, landed at No. 4 with $11.4 million, for a total of $35.7 million.

“On a profit/ratio basis, both were slam-dunks,” Dergarabedian says.

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Box Office

Preliminary results (in millions) based on studio projections.

*--* Movie 3-day gross Total The Incredibles $70.7 $70.7

Ray 13.8 39.8

The Grudge 13.5 89.6

Saw 11.4 35.7

Alfie 6.5 6.5

Shall We Dance? 5.7 42.1

Shark Tale 4.6 154.1

Friday Night Lights 3 57.3

Ladder 49 2.6 69.9

Team America: World Police 1.9 30.5

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Source: Nielsen EDI Inc.