‘Hangover’ takes down ‘Up’ for top box-office spot in rare reversal of weekend rankings

‘Hangover’ takes down ‘Up’ for top box-office spot

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood had a bigger hangover this weekend than expected.

The Warner Bros. comedy “The Hangover” drew larger audiences than earlier projected to raise its weekend ticket sales to $45 million, about $1.8 million more than the studio estimated Sunday.

That made it the No. 1 draw for the weekend instead of Disney and Pixar Animation’s “Up,” which came in second with $44.1 million. Sunday studio estimates had “Up” edging “The Hangover” by about $1 million.

It’s rare that the first- and second-place movies on Sunday flip-flop when final numbers come out Monday. But strong attendance Sunday allowed “The Hangover” to pull ahead.

With heavy matinee traffic, family films such as “Up” usually hold on better through Sunday than adult movies like “The Hangover.”

Warner Bros. had expected Sunday’s National Basketball Association playoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic to cut into business for the R-rated “The Hangover,” the tale of four friends at an out-of-control bachelor party weekend in Las Vegas.

Yet more people turned up for the movie than anticipated, said Dan Fellman, Warner head of distribution.

“The Lakers weren’t the only winners,” Fellman said. “We had an unbelievable day.”

Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta said the studio was happy to finish at No. 2 with “Up,” whose final weekend total came in about $100,000 lower than the studio estimated Sunday.

“Up” has topped $137 million in just 10 days and is on track to become the latest $200 million blockbuster from Disney and Pixar, whose hits include “WALL-E,” ”The Incredibles,” ”Finding Nemo” and the “Toy Story” movies.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

1. “The Hangover,” Warner Bros., $44,979,319, 3,269 locations, $13,759 average, $44,979,319, one week.

2. “Up,” Disney, $44,138,266, 3,818 locations, $11,561 average, $137,210,701, two weeks.

3. “Land of the Lost,” Universal, $18,837,350, 3,521 locations, $5,350 average, $18,837,350, one week.

4. “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” Fox, $14,634,988, 3,807 locations, $3,844 average, $127,326,188, three weeks.

5. “Star Trek,” Paramount, $8,310,480, 3,202 locations, $2,595 average, $222,712,175, five weeks.

6. “Terminator Salvation,” Warner Bros., $8,248,387, 3,304 locations, $2,496 average, $105,568,008, three weeks.

7. “Drag Me to Hell,” Universal, $7,040,550, 2,510 locations, $2,805 average, $28,233,230, two weeks.

8. “Angels & Demons,” Sony, $6,550,282, 2,925 locations, $2,239 average, $116,174,931, four weeks.

9. “My Life in Ruins,” Fox Searchlight, $3,223,161, 1,164 locations, $2,769 average, $3,223,161, one week.

10. “Dance Flick,” Paramount, $1,958,725, 1,707 locations, $1,147 average, $22,625,733, three weeks.

11. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” Fox, $1,927,096, 1,389 locations, $1,387 average, $174,347,386, six weeks.

12. “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” Warner Bros., $932,181, 879 locations, $1,061 average, $51,919,132, six weeks.

13. “The Brothers Bloom,” Summit, $412,771, 173 locations, $2,386 average, $2,025,712, four weeks.

14. “Fast & Furious,” Universal, $286,795, 284 locations, $1,010 average, $154,356,665, 10 weeks.

15. “Monsters vs. Aliens,” Paramount, $270,873, 313 locations, $865 average, $194,854,481, 11 weeks.

16. “The Soloist,” Paramount, $264,531, 306 locations, $864 average, $30,726,123, seven weeks.

17. “Race to Witch Mountain,” Disney, $259,716, 250 locations, $1,039 average, $66,200,577, 13 weeks.

18. “Obsessed,” Sony Screen Gems, $258,092, 318 locations, $812 average, $68,032,027, seven weeks.

19. “17 Again,” Warner Bros., $212,805, 222 locations, $959 average, $61,605,717, eight weeks.

20. “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” Disney, $210,014, 207 locations, $1,015 average, $77,893,713, nine weeks.

On the Net:

www.hollywood.com/boxoffice

Universal Pictures and Focus Features are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount and Paramount Vantage are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney’s parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue Pictures is owned by Relativity Media LLC; Overture Films is a subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp.