A near-$70m opening weekend cements The LEGO Movie as the first big blockbuster success of the year...
We don't usually do box office stories, but we figured that the surprisingly huge opening of the massively enjoyable The LEGO Movie in the US deserved one. Plus, we really liked the movie a lot. The film has opened at number one over the weekend in the States, with an estimated take of $69.1m. That makes it the second biggest February opening of all time in the US, behind Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ.
And whilst you'd hardly say that The LEGO Movie wasn't without franchise crossovers, it's also snagged one of the biggest non-sequel/prequel openings for an animated movie ever, too.
The rave reviews for the film - which opens fully in the UK this coming weekend - can hardly have done any harm. But also there's the scheduling: The LEGO Movie is the latest in a long line of films that proves you can bring in blockbuster numbers outside of the once-perceived blockbuster movie window.
Incidentally, George Clooney's The Monuments Men did solid basis against far less impressive reviews: it opened to $22.7m. Vampire Academy, however, suffered sharply, earning just over $4m in its opening weekend.
A sequel to The LEGO Movie is already in the works.
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