DISNEY - HOW HIGH IS UP?

HOW HIGH IS UP?

There's no disagreement that Disney/Pixar's Up will dominate the box office this weekend. The only disagreement is about how far up its gross will go. Disney distribution chief Chuck Viane predicted Thursday that Up will likely match the $63.1-million opening for WALL-E last June, but other box-office forecasters are predicting much stronger results, given the fervent street buzz and nearly universal critical praise. Several suggest it will have no difficulty beating the $70.5 million take of The Incredibles, the best opening-weekend figure for a Pixar flick -- but that movie did not have the benefit of 3D surcharges going for it, as Up does. Up faces competition from the PG-13-rated horror film, Drag Me to Hell , which returns director Sam Raimi to the horror genre. It also goes up against a slew of recently released blockbusters, including last weekend's winner, Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian, as well as Terminator Salvation, Star Trek, Angels and Demons and X-Men Origins Wolverine.

29/05/2009