Apparently, it only took the yellow square fellow from Bikini Bottom to oust the U.S. Navy SEAL hero from the top spot in the battle for ticket sales. Clint Eastwood's "American Sniper" was number one at the box office for three consecutive weeks with its impressive $24.2 million earnings until "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water" hit theaters. The premiere of the animated/live action film in North America alone netted Paramount a massive $56 million, doubling that of the Bradley Cooper film during its January debut.
"The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water," brought by Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Animation, is a follow-up to "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" that came out back in 2004. As it turns out, the love for SpongeBob has not faltered one bit.
The movie stars Antonio Banderas, who plays the role of Burger-Beard, the pirate cook who steals the all-important krabby patty formula. And the gang must march into land to redeem it and save Bikini Bottom.
"This movie played a little bit older than we initially thought it would," Paramount Pictures president of worldwide distribution and marketing Megan Colligan shared to AP, as quoted by ABC News. "It's a real tribute to Nickelodeon and the strength of the brand and how well they manage the brand. It's a beloved character that teenagers love from their childhood."
Variety attributes the animated film's success to the absence of "compelling family films." But the publication believes that it was mostly the charisma of the cute yellow critter that shoveled the cosmic ticket sales. SpongeBob has been in television for a decade now and almost everyone is familiar with the krabby-patty whipping charmer.
"We got the faithful fans to show up, but we also had teenagers and 20-year-olds," Paramount Pictures vice chairman Rob Moore told Variety. "It was able to do so well because it played to a wide age range. It was a combination of people who grew up with 'SpongeBob' and had affection for it, along with a campaign that introduced some fresh elements."
Meanwhile, at the box office, the science-fiction adventure film "Jupiter Ascending" starring Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum trails behind "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water" and "American Sniper." The film helmed by "Matrix" trilogy directors Andy and Lana Wachowski has garnered $19 million during its U.S. debut. David Heyman's "Paddington" and time travel adventure "Project Almanac" raked in $5.4 million and $5.3 million, respectively. "Seventh's Son" proved to be less than its hype as it only reaped $7.1 million during the weekend.
As the Nickelodeon star enjoys the top spot, the box office is expected to be shaken up by "Fifty Shades of Grey."
