Disney/Pixars CARS had plenty in the tank to outpace the competition in its second weekend at the box office. For the period ended June 18, CARS grabbed $33.7M, down 44%, for a cume of $117M. Following in the second through fourth spots were newcomers NACHO LIBRE, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT and THE LAKE HOUSE. NACHO LIBRE collected $28.3M for Paramount; TOKYO DRIFT garnered $23.9M for Universal (with vfx by Hammerhead, Rhythm & Hues, CIS Hollywood, CafeFX, Pacific Title, Illusion Arts, Industrial Light & Magic, Perpetual Motion Picture, Digital Backlot and Hatch FX); and THE LAKE HOUSE brought home $13.6M for Warner Bros. Universals THE BREAK-UP fell to fifth with $9.8M for a three-week cume of $92.2M. With $7.8M, sixth place belonged to X-MEN: THE LAST STAND (with vfx from Cinesite, Framestore CFC, MPC and Weta Digital, among others). The Fox blockbuster now has a cume of $216.2M. Debuting in seventh was Foxs GARFIELD: A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES, which managed $7.2M and which boasts animation and vfx from Rhythm & Hues and Rainmaker. Foxs remake of THE OMEN (with vfx from Cinesite) staked the eighth spot with $5.6M and a tally of $47.1M. Sonys THE DA VINCI CODE (with vfx from Double Negative, Rainmaker Animation & Visual Effects, MPC, The Senate, Brainstorm Digital, Artem and Altered States) finished ninth with $5.2M and a cume of $198.7M. Tenth place went to DreamWorks animated OVER THE HEDGE, with $4.3M and a total of $139M. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
