Brains and meatballs were the weekend specials at the boxoffice.
Sony's "Zombieland" lived to see the dawn of profitability, scoring $25 million for the weekend, according to studio figures.
Also from Sony, the 3D kids movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" still had plenty of spice in its third week with a projected $16.7 million weekend total that was good for second place.
Profitability for "Zombieland" was never in much doubt. Starring Woody Harrelson and directed by relative newcomer Ruben Fleischer, "Zombieland" was modestly priced at $23.6 million and came with a co-financier, Relativity Media, to share the risks.
A number of R-rated horror movies had tanked of late, including "Sorority Row, "Whiteout" and "Pandorum." Even Fox's Diablo Cody-written "Jennifer's Body," which also blended in the comedy, failed to move the bar. But with tracking predictions for "Zombieland" coming in as high as $30 millioin, Sony knew going in it didn't have a dud on its hands.
"We knew we had something unique and that this cast had a lot of chemistry," said Rory Bruer, Sony president of worldwide distribution. "It's an action buddy movie that just happens to have a lot of zombies in it."
Speaking from the Hawaiian islands Sunday, Bruer definitely had reason to relax on a beach and chill, with "Cloudy" declining only 32 percent from its second week -- after experiencing only a 19 percent drop-off last weekend. "Cloudy" succeeded in trumping Disney's rerelease of the "Toy Story" films, even though the "Toy Story" double feature took away half of its 3D screens.
All told, "Cloudy," which costs Sony's animation division about $100 million to produce, has taken in $82.4 million in three weeks of North American distribution, with the bulk of foreign grosses still to be counted.
"To lose half of your 3D screens, and the uptick in ticket prices that's associated with that, and to still drop only 33 percent, that's an incredible hold," Bruer said. "People are committed to seeing this movie whether it's in 3D or not."
For its part, Disney rereleased 1995's "Toy Story" and 1999's "Toy Story 2" exclusively as a 3D double-feature playing at 1,745 appropriately equipped locations. Clocking in at a kiddie-attention-span-testing two hours, 53 minutes combined, the double bill provided Disney only a limited number of daily runs and yielded the studio a projected $12.5 million for the weekend.
Rival studio estimates peg the conversion costs for both films at somewhere between $10 million-$16 million, with marketing costs for the rerelease running about $30 million.
However, as one rival studio distribution official noted, with "Toy Story 3" coming next year, the recommission served to increase awareness regarding a franchise that had been out of theaters for a decade.
"I think it was kind of a way to promote the new film," said the exec. "And I think Disney will be pleased with the result."
Among other films opening this weekend, Warner's "The Invention of Lying," a comedy written by, directed by and starring Ricky Gervais, premiered to $7.4
