Brett Ratner's caper comedy "Tower Heist" broke into theaters with disappointing results this weekend, losing out to an exceptionally strong second-week performance from the 3D computer animated romp, "Puss in Boots."
The Universal-Relativity "Tower Heist," which teamed Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, grossed only $25 million in North America -- a huge miss at $10 million under box-office predictions.
In an exclusive interview with TheWrap, director Brett Ratner said he was "ecstatic" with the box office -- particularly in a difficult market.
"A $25 million opening is nothing to complain about, and I think it's excellent in a market that is obviously soft," he said, adding that audiences increased from Friday night to Saturday night.
But the weekend belonged to DreamWorks Animation's "Puss in Boots" starring Antonio Banderas, which took $33 million in its second weekend in release. That was a very strong hold on audiences considering it opened to $34 million. The movie dropped only 3 percent from its premiere.
Also read: Drew Barrymore, Eddie Murphy Top Forbes' 'Most Overpaid' List
"It's probably the best hold ever, honestly, for a movie in wide release," Anne Globe, DreamWorks Animation marketing chief, told TheWrap.
The weekend's other new wide release, New Line's stoner comedy sequel "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" bowed at third place, grossing a soft $13 million.
But overall, the theatrical business is not doing terribly well.
The "Puss in Boots" performance was the highlight to a weekend that was down 23 percent compared to the same weekend last year.
Globe said that DreamWorks always planned a two-weekend opening strategy for "Puss in Boots."
The PG-rated movie played at 3,963 locations -- 11 more than last weekend.
Globe said the film has grossed more than $75 million "after just 10 days, and to have this kind of momentum now, going into the holiday play period with Veterans Day coming up next weekend and then heading into Thanksgiving ... that was always our plan."
Also read: Universal Caves, Abandons 'Tower Heist' VOD Scheme
She said the movie, which had a budget of about $130 million, will continue to perform well.
At Universal, meanwhile, distribution chief Nikki Rocco said "Tower Heist's" $25 million gross was within the studio's range of expectations -- if on the low end.
The PG-13 movie was co-financed with Relativity at a cost of around $85 million. Audiences gave it a middling Cinemascore of "B," Rocco said. It played at 3,367 locations.
"Tower Heist," about a group of luxury tower support staffers who try to steal back money from a Bernard Madoff-like Wall Street character (played by Alan Alda), drew a slightly older audience. People 30 and older made up 62 percent of the audience and females made up 56 percent.
