Animated films played a very big role at this weekend's box office which
saw strong performances from three animated features. After eight weeks,
"ANTZ" remained in the Top 10 at No. 9 pulling in $2.3 million. "A Bug's
Life" was impressive in its one-theater debut in Hollywood, California's
historic El Capitan theater grossing an amazing $291,000 during the
weekend. This opening set house records at the El Capitan according to
sources at Buena Vista. The biggest story this weekend though was
Paramount's "The Rugrats Movie" grossing a commanding $28 million averaging
$10,065 per theater despite lackluster reviews and limited appeal to older
audiences. This performance easily makes it the best opening for a
non-Disney animated film ever and fourth overall among feature cartoons
behind "The Lion King" ($40.9M), "Pocahontas" ($29.5M), and "Toy Story"
($29.1M).