By Ryan Parsons | Image property of Walt Disney Pictures, Variety
Alice in Wonderland
Though the critics didn't think Alice in Wonderland was all that great -- nor the film's use of 3D -- that still didn't stop audiences everywhere from making it out to see the film.
Box Office Wonder: Alice in Wonderland
We may soon find out whether the real wonder behind Alice in Wonderland is the fact that the film did so well during its opening weekend. The film has quickly become the highest-grossing first-quarter opener and scored the all-time highest three-day, nonholiday bow for a nonsequel film in the U.S. Domestically, Alice was able to take in $116.3 million from 3,728 screens. Further adding to the bounty, international audiences contributed $94 million, bringing the film's worlddwide take at somewhere near $210.3 million. Just like Fox did with Avatar, Disney put Alice in Wonderland on a majority of 3D-capable screens, with the medium amounting to 65% of the film's total domestic screens.
We already knew that the weekend's only other wide release, Brooklyn's Finest, was going to get eclipsed by Disney's Alice, but that still didn't stop the cop drama from exceeding expecations. Thanks in part to a collection of familiar faces, Brooklyn's Finest opened to $13.5 million. Strong sure, but not all that much when compared to Alice, which did $41 million on Friday alone.
Alice in Wonderland marks Burton's highest opener, easily surpassing his previous record-holder, Planet of the Apes, which opened with $68.5 million in 2001. Alice, toplining frequent Burton collaborator Johnny Depp, also beat the launch of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (which earned $56.1 million) as the duo's previous top opening.
Thanks to Alice, the weekend was up a whopping 64% over the same frame last year.