Happy Feet Steps on New Bond Debut

It seems that childrens’ movies have a license to kill at the box office, with a cartoon about penguins beating out the new James Bond flick in their opening weekends.

James Bond has met his match — not a fellow spy but a tap-dancing penguin.

The Warner Bros. animated penguin romp “Happy Feet” debuted with $42.3 million, grabbing an edge for the weekend’s No. 1 slot over Sony’s Bond adventure “Casino Royale,” which opened with $40.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The two films were close enough that their rankings could change when final numbers are released Monday. “‘Happy Feet’ is just ahead by a flipper,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. “It’s unusual to have two movies this close, battling for that No. 1 position.”

Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner, said “Happy Feet” was solidly ahead and that the rankings would not flip-flop on Monday. “It’s not going to happen,” Fellman said. “It’s a clear victory here.”

“Casino Royale” took an early lead over “Happy Feet” on opening day because of strong adult audiences Friday night. “Happy Feet” dominated the rest of the weekend, drawing big crowds on Saturday and Sunday when family films do their best business.

The box-office leader the last two weekends, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” slipped to third with $14.35 million, lifting its total to $90.5 million.

While I was surprised by this result, I shouldn’t have been. Movies with an “R” rating have a huge disadvantage in that a huge chunk of the movie-going public is locked out. Those aimed at a family audience do well if they’re any good at all.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Happy Feet Steps on New Bond Debut

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