“Toy Story 3” Opens Big

After several disappointing weekends of box-office returns, Hollywood got some good news over the weekend thanks to Disney and Pixar.

“Toy Story 3,” powered by solid reviews and buzz, rocketed to the top of the box-office with the largest opening for a movie in June. The animated sequel took in $109 million at the box-office. It also continued Pixar’s impressive trend of movies debuting at number one at eleven. That trend is even more impressive when you consider that no Pixar film has ever opened below the number one slot.

“Given the history of Toy Story, it was great to be invited to the club,” says Greg Foster of Imax. The film trumped last year’s Monsters Vs. Aliens, the previous record-holder at $5.1 million.

“This franchise hit on every cylinder, every time,” says Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, which releases Pixar’s films.

It also appears that audiences were interested in only one new movie this weekend. “Jonah Hex” had a disappointing debut at number eight, taking in just over $5 million at the box-office. With its huge budget, “Hex” could be on the way to being one of the more disappointing films of the year.

Last week’s number one dropped off by nearly half and took the second slot. “The Karate Kid” took in $29 million. “The A-Team” continued to struggle, taking in only $13.7 million for third place. The film looks likely to struggle to make back its price tag of $110 million.

Rounding out the top five were “Get Him to the Greek” and “Shrek Forever After.”