Universal will Survive

Despicable Me went far and above my expectations this weekend, earning over $60 million. This is especially impressive since it only cost $69 million to produce. I don't see why so much money is spent on animated films, this doesn't look much cheaper than the other animated features this year, which were all more than twice that much to produce. The real news here though, is this is the first time a Universal picture has been #1 since "Couple's Retreat" last October. That's a long dry spell. It's also Universal's biggest opening since "Fast and Furious" last April. Fast and Furious was the highest grossing film of the year for Universal, but it ranked #17 on the overall chart. It's no secret that the studio has been in trouble as of late, their last picture to make over $200 million was "The Bourne Ultimatum" in 2007. In that time, WB has had seven pictures to cross that mark. Fox has had 3, Sony managed 1, Disney afforded 5, and Paramount has had a shocking eight. Despicable Me could conceivably cross $200, but it's certainly not money in the bank. Still, this is good news for a studio with only one profitable film this summer, Get him to the Greek.