Monsters University, World War Z fight close at box-office

Pixar, the animation studio now owned by Disney, has maintained its number traditions once again. All their releases have been toppers as per the box-office records and their latest Monsters University was also no exception. It was given a tough chase by Brad Pitt’s zombie flick World War Z which came out second this weekend.

After Toy Story 3 which opened with $110.3 million in June 2010, Monsters University is the second highest grosser in the history of Pixar with a debut of $82 million from 4,004 theaters. 73 percent of business for the film was done by families while teens’ helped in 15 percent. Overseas, Monsters University gained $54.5 million from 35 markets. To add the international earnings, Monsters University has grossed $136.5 million worldwide in its first three days. On the other hand World War Z also saw a satisfactory opening with $66 million from 3,607 theaters.

Thanks to Paramount’s striking marketing strategies, this zombie thriller has become the highest grosser on its opening in Brad Pitt’s entire career, even beating Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which opened with $50.3 million in 2005. Though the film has to go a longer way to be called as a blockbuster but with the opening weekend collections, the future of the project looks quite promising. In the overseas market, World War Z earned $45.8 million from 25 territories. Meanwhile the topper of this weekend Monsters University will face a tough competition from Despicable Me 2 soon, which is scheduled to release on July 3. Man of Steel has ended in the third position with $41.2 million collection, followed by This Is the End ($13 million) in the fourth place and Now You See Me ($7.9 million) in the fifth position. The next changes in Hollywood are The Heat and White House Down.