Weekend Recap: Toy Story 3 breaks the piggy bank

“Toy Story 3” earned enough money at the box office this weekend to provide my 6 to 12-year-old self with an unlimited Toys R Us shopping spree. The film gave Pixar its highest opening weekend ever; good for tenth place on the all-time list, third for 2010 and second as far as animated films go behind “Shrek the Third.”

It could have been any combination of the 11-year wait, the brand familiarity, Pixar’s involvement and the near-stainless reviews that allowed “Toy Story 3” to make an instant killing with $40 million just on Friday alone.

1. Toy Story 3 – $110.3 M (weekend) … $110.3 M (gross)
2. The Karate Kid – $29.8 M … $107.1 M
3. The A-Team – $14.4 M … $50.4 M
4. Get Him to the Greek – $6.1 M … $47.8 M
5. Shrek Forever After – $5.6 M … $223 M
6. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time – $5.5 M … $80.8 M
7. Jonah Hex – $5.3 M … $5.3 M
8. Killers – $5 M … $39.3 M
9. Iron Man 2 – $2.8 M  … $304.2 M
10. Marmaduke – $2.4 M … $27.7 M

It’s been a kid’s world at the movies lately. Three of the top five at the box office this weekend were animated or family films. Five of the top ten movies this year as far as total domestic gross (so far) are animated or family films. Don’t tell that to Marmaduke, however, whose movie has only made $27.7 million in three weeks.

The only other new mainstream film was “Jonah Hex,” which received some of the worst reviews this year and consequently made diddly at the box office. With an estimated budget just below $50 million, Warner Bros. will be eager to move on from this one.

Elsewhere in the top ten, “Get Him to the Greek” has held up well with the lack of comedy competition, passing its estimated budget mark. “Prince of Persia” dropped just 15 percent from last week despite leaving 500 theaters. Although that film appears to have flopped, the worldwide total is way beyond the $200 million budget estimation.