Analysts: Wall-E To Dominate Box Office

Box office analysts are in undivided agreement that Disney/Pixar's WALL-E will dominate ticket sales this weekend -- but their estimates of the total take range from $50 million to $85 million. Much depends on the audience's acceptance of an animated feature that presents a strong environmental message and is, as several critics observe, often downright melancholy. The film also has very little dialogue, save for the beeping conversations of robots. In addition, it faces stiff competition, not only from the premiering Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy, but also a raft of potent holdovers, including a more child-friendly Kung Fu Panda.. Nevertheless, some analysts point out that the very elements that may work against the movie in the U.S. are likely to enhance it abroad, a fact obviously not lost on Disney executives themselves. "WALL-E translates well around the world because of the physical comedy and emotional aspects," Mark Zoradi, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group, told Bloomberg News. "Nothing binds it to the United States. It's a creative project that will work in 100 countries around the world." Meanwhile, Wanted, is also expected to debut strongly -- albeit not on the level of WALL-E. The film, in which McAvoy plays an Everyman with super powers (a scene in which he is urged to shoot the wings off a fly has already been heavily lampooned on several Internet sites), is expected to rake in $30-35 million over the weekend.


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