This weekend marked the theatrical debut of Wreck-It Ralph, and its box office reception will certainly give Walt Disney Animation Studios a reason to celebrate. In its opening weekend, Wreck-It Ralph took in $49.1 million at the domestic box office, which is the top weekend debut for a film from Disney Animation Studios.
The film’s weekend grosses beat out those for Tangled, which had an opening weekend gross of $48.8 million when it opened over Thanksgiving weekend in 2010. Wreck-It Ralph tells the story of Ralph, a video game character who gets fed up with his status as a “bad guy.” Playing before the film is Paperman, an innovative and captivating animated short that uses a new animation technique, combining both hand-drawn animation and computer animation, to tell the story of two strangers who find each other in New York City.
The film was likely helped in the Northeast by families who were looking for a distraction in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, as many of the movie theaters that were forced to close by the storm began to reopen in the later part of last week.
“For a company whose foundation was built on animation, it’s a pretty incredible thing to have Tangled and now Wreck-It Ralph do such great business,” Disney executive vice president of distribution Dave Hollis said. “It is a testament to the story telling, and it’s about connecting with both families and adults.”
Did you go see Wreck-It Ralph in theaters this weekend? What did you think of the film? Leave a comment and let us know.
