'Monsters University' Devours Zombies and Superheroes

Man of Steel may be faster than a speeding bullet, but it wasn't fast enough to speed past Disney DIS and Pixar's latest release. After debuting at number-one with $116 million in domestic ticket sales, Man of Steel fell to third place with an estimated (though not yet final) $41 million. This swift and steep decline could have hurt Time Warner's TWX chances of recouping the film's $225 million budget. Man of Steel is already profitable worldwide, however, earning $398 million. World War Z, the mainstream zombie flick from Viacom's VIA Paramount Pictures, came in second place with an estimated $66 million. This is an impressive feat for the film, which cost $190 million to produce. According to Box Office Mojo, Monsters University scared its way to the top of the domestic box office with an estimated $82 million. This is Pixar's second-biggest opening after Toy Story 3, which earned $110 million when it was released on June 18, 2010. While many animation sequels struggle at the box office (ex: Shrek Forever After made $100 million less than Shrek the Third and $200 million less than Shrek 2), Monsters University has proved to be a smart investment for Disney. CinemaScore, which polls moviegoers to gauge the appeal of new films, awarded Monsters University with an 'A' rating after speaking to consumers on opening night. Aside from the Toy Story franchise, Pixar has only released a sequel to one other film: Cars. The animation studio will release another, Finding Dory, in 2015. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ