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Spy Kids 3D Pulls Off Upset; Nemo Breaks Record

Out of nowhere, SPY KIDS 3D: GAME OVER topped the box office charts for the weekend ending July 27, 2003, bringing in $33.4M for Miramax's Dimension Films, with VFX by Hybride Technologies and The Orphanage. Meanwhile, even though Disney/Pixar's FINDING NEMO reeled in $4.4M in the eighth spot, it topped $313M as this year's best grosser, good enough to break the LION KING's record as the all-time animation king. However, if you count the recent IMAX reissue, THE LION KING technically has earned a total of $328.5M. The weekend also featured, for the first, time five movies surpassing $20M, which is really spreading the wealth.

Disney's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL held firm in second place with $23.1M for a total of $176.8M. VFX was supplied by Industrial Light & Magic, Boy Wonder, CIS, Digiscope, Gray Matter FX, Method and Pacific Title. Sony's BAD BOYS II dropped to third with $22M for a cume of $88.5M. LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE, with VFX by Cinesite (Europe) Ltd., Double Negative and the Moving Picture Co., debuted in a disappointing fourth position. Paramount's sequel to the blockbuster mustered $21.7M. Universal's SEABISCUIT debuted at number five with $20.8M, but boasted the best per screen average of the bunch. The Cinderella racehorse saga featured VFX by Pixel Playground Inc., Sony Pictures Imageworks and The Orphanage.

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN continued its slide at number six The Fox film collected $5M for a cume of $52.9M despite a legion of VFX services supplied by Industrial Light & Magic, Steve Johnson's Edge FX Inc., Double Negative, Cinesite (Europe), New Deal Studios Inc., Tippett Studio, Computercafe Inc., Pixel Magic, VCE.Com/Peter Kuran, R!OT, Giant Killer Robots, Engine Room, Big Red Pixel, Mar Vista Ventures and Millennium FX Ltd.

TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES fell to number seven, capturing $5M for a total of $137.4M. The Warner Bros. actioner was bolstered by the combined VFX of Industrial Light & Magic, Anatomorphex, Pacific Data Images, Pacific Titles & Optical and Stan Winston Studio. JOHNNY ENGLISH, the British spy spoof starring Rowan Atkinson, clocked in at number nine with $4.3M. The Universal film, with VFX by Double Negative, has tallied $18.4M so far. Finishing at number 10 was MGM's LEGALLY BLONDE 2: RED, WHITE AND BLUE, which scored $2.7M for a cume of $82.1M, with VFX honors by Pixel Magic. Box office information obtained from boxofficemojo.com.

Bill Desowitz's picture

Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.