‘Nemo’s’ fish story a whopper: $70 million

A pair of clown fish and their friends swam to box office records this weekend, with the Disney/Pixar animated film “Finding Nemo” bringing in an estimated $70.6 million.

It was the highest opening weekend for any animated movie, surpassing that of the 2001 Disney/Pixar hit “Monsters, Inc.,” which brought in $62.5 million and eventually grossed $255.9 million domestically. “Nemo,” the first of the five Pixar features to debut in summer rather than in November, also marked Disney’s highest three-day opening weekend for any film, live action or animated.

The tale of an overprotective father’s quest to find his lost son, Nemo, proved a big sell with audiences of all ages. Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney’s Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, said the demographics skewed almost equally among all age groups, with 10:30 p.m. shows selling out as frequently as 10:30 a.m. shows.

As popular as “Nemo” is, with this summer’s release schedule bringing out a new blockbuster every weekend, it remains to be seen if the spunky little fish can hold its own. On Friday the street-racing sequel “2 Fast 2 Furious” enters the fray. The following weekend will see the arrival of “Hollywood Homicide,” the “American Idol” movie “From Justin to Kelly,” “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd” and “The Rugrats Go Wild.” “The Hulk” bows June 13.

One of only two other widely released debuts, Paramount’s “The Italian Job” stole the No. 3 spot with an estimated $19.3 million in 2,633 theaters for a respectable venue average of $7,330. The caper movie starring Charlize Theron and Mark Wahlberg received fairly good reviews and probably also benefited from sneak previews the weekend prior to its bow. “Wrong Turn,” a thriller that Fox opted not to screen in advance, arrived in the No. 7 spot with an estimated $5 million in 1,615 theaters.

Studio marketing projections had indicated “Nemo” would come in at between $50 million and $60 million, and its performance surpassed all expectations. Featuring the voices of Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres and Willem Dafoe, “Finding Nemo” likely benefited from good word-of-mouth and solid reviews. Critics mostly raved about the film’s story line as well as the animation that gave the film a vibrant interpretation of aquatic life along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

The movie, a long-planned labor of love from director Andrew Stanton (“A Bug’s Life”), grossed a hefty $20,937 per theater at 3,374 sites.

Last weekend’s big opener, “Bruce Almighty,” dropped 48% to the No. 2 spot, bringing in $35.6 million for a total of $135.7 million. “The Matrix Reloaded” continues to drop precipitously, coming in at No. 4, down 62% from its second weekend with an estimated $15 million. Despite its large dropoff, it has already grossed $232 million domestically. Rounding out the top five was “Daddy Day Care,” which grossed $6.8 million in its fourth weekend and $82 million to date.

Chinese director Chen Kaige’s latest film, “Together,” grossed $66,000 over the weekend in six theaters in New York and Los Angeles.

This weekend’s top 12 films grossed $165.5 million, up 41% from the same weekend last year, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Inc.