By Ryan Parsons | Image property of Walt Disney Pictures, Variety
Alice in Wonderland
After last giving us The Bourne Ultimatum, the Greengrass/Damon thriller Green Zone looked like a slam dunk for Universal Pictures. What they hadn't counted on, however, was Disney's current juggernaut Alice in Wonderland, which stomped all over it.
Box Office Bout: Alice in Wonderland vs Green Zone
Sometimes Hollywood fails to get the message. Mot moviegoers are looking for a chance to escape, and in most cases this does not include being reminded of frustrations during the start of the (2nd) war in Iraq. This fact and Alice in Wonderland helped keep Green Zone's earnings to a minimal $14.5 million. Disney looked unaffected by the thriller, with Alice hauling in another $62 million during its second bow; a slip that was below expectations at 47%. The film's strong numbers have helped it quickly become Disney's highest-grossing film domestically for a first-quarter release, as well as one of the studio's top 20 films of all time. At the rate it's going, I guess we can assume it will reach top ten no problem by the end of its (shortened) run. While the film did less than fantastic with critics, Disney credits the positive second weekend to the moviegoers themselves.
"In the world of blockbusters, when you don't drop 50%, it means one thing: positive word of mouth," said Disney prexy of domestic distribution Chuck Viane. "These kind of numbers prove that everybody's coming."
Can Green Zone strike back in its second weekend? Probably not. That whole "word of mouth" theory takes a serious hit when you have a CinemaScore rating of B-.
Looking to the other wide releases, She's Out of My League came in third with $9.6 million and Summit Entertainment's Remember Me did just fine with $8.3 million.
Alice in Wonderland 
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