Photo Credit: Universal Pictures/Tippett Studio
John (MARK WAHLBERG) hangs out with his best friend, Ted (voiced by SETH MACFARLANE).
1. Ted – $54.1 million [debut week] – Seth MacFarlane’s first feature film proved to be a big hit with audiences and is the highest grossing Friday take for any R-rated comedy. “The Hangover” reached $16 million to “Ted’s” $20.2 million.
Universal Studios’ decision to fill the release void left after Paramount Pictures opted to push “G.I. Joe: Retaliation’s” opening to 2013 looks like a brilliant move. “Ted” was originally set to open July 13, which would likely have gotten it lost in the shuffle between blockbusters “The Amazing Spider-Man” (which opens July 3) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (opening July 20). There was also no other comedy fighting for audience attention so this was a smart bit of strategy on Universal’s part.
Photo by Glen Wilson/Warner Bros. Pictures
(From left) JOE MANGANIELLO as Big Dick Richie, ALEX PETTYFER as Adam/The Kid, MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY as Dallas and CHANNING TATUM as Mike in Warner Bros. Pictures’ dramatic comedy “MAGIC MIKE.”
2. Magic Mike – $39.16 million [debut week] Channing Tatum’s busy 2012 continues with his best opening yet for the year while director Steven Soderbergh earns his best highest grossing opening take [better than any of the Ocean movies, his 2001 Oscar winner "Traffic" or "Haywire."] I’m very curious how the film would have fared if the TV spots didn’t solely focus on the male stripper aspect and gave even a glimpse of the story behind the dance numbers.
Courtesy Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar Animation
(From left) Lord MacIntosh and his son, Young MacIntosh, Merida, Wee Dingwall and his father Lord Dingwall, Lord MacGuffin and his son, Young MacGuffen, Queen Elinor and King Fergus in “Brave.”
3. Brave – $34.01 million [2nd week; $118 million] – Last week’s winner drops a couple of spots with some heavy competition from genres that hadn’t been too well-represented this summer in the raunchy comedy and the female market. Since families have had a few options in recent weeks, the demand wasn’t as strong to carry Merida and company to the top for consecutive weeks.
Photo credit: KC Bailey/Lionsgate Publicity
Kate Needleman (Denise Richards) and Madea (Tyler Perry) in TYLER PERRY’S MADEA’S WITNESS PROTECTION.
4. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection – $26.35 million [debut week] Madea is somehow still managing to attract audiences, largely due to the fact that there hasn’t been an African-American comedy since Screen Gems’ “Think Like a Man” came out in April. Clearly the lesson here is studios that pick their spots in releasing their films after a long gap in a genre benefit the most this summer.
Photo credit: Courtesy of DreamWorks Animation
(From left) Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer), Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock) and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith) go undercover in Monaco.
5. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted – $11.82 million [4th week; $175 million] – Showing some decent staying power is the third (and best) installment of the zoo animals and their wacky pals.
