Tim Burtons CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (with delightful vfx from MPC, Framestore CFC, Cinesite and Digital Domain), which opened with a very sweet $56.1M for the weekend ended July 17, 2005, proved to be the best July opening ever for Warner Bros. It was also the best opening ever for a PG-rated movie in July as well as Johnny Depps best bow.
Meanwhile, Warner had more good news, as sister division New Line opened the R-rated comedy, WEDDING CRASHERS, to a better than expected $33.9M. Foxs FANTASTIC FOUR (with vfx principally from Giant Killer Robots, Stan Winston Digital and Soho VFX) dropped from first to third with a take of $22.7M for a two-week take of $100.1M. Paramounts WAR OF THE WORLDS (with vfx from ILM) followed in third place with $15.2M and a cume of $192.4M. Warner Bros. BATMAN BEGINS (with vfx from Double Negative, MPC, Rising Sun Pictures and BUF) took the fifth spot with $6M and a $183.1M cume. Foxs MR. AND MRS. SMITH (with vfx from Digital Dimension) landed in sixth place with $5.2M and $168.2M. Buena Vistas horror-filled DARK WATER (with vfx from Digital Domain, Flash Film Works and others) fell to seventh with $4.6M for a two-week tally of $18.8M. Buena Vistas HERBIE: FULLY LOADED (with vfx by Entity FX, ILM and a host of other boutiques) occupied the eighth position with $3.6M and $55.9M. Sonys BEWITCHED (with vfx by Sony Pictures Imageworks) came in ninth with $2.5M and $57M. And DreamWorks MADAGASCAR followed in 10th place with $2.3M for a total of $184M (eighth on the all-time list of 3D-animated features).
Hayao Miyazakis well-received HOWLS MOVING CASTLE collected another $149,368 for a cume of $4.1M for Buena Vista (with Pixars Pete Docter and Disneys Rick Dempsey overseeing the American version). It now ranks seventh on the all-time list of anime titles. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
