FRIDAY 8 PM: (Numbers will be refined later tonight.) 1. Sources are telling me that early North American box office numbers show that Universal Pictures is going to enjoy something it hasn't had in a very long time: a big hit film. That's because rival studios say that weeks of great parent-kid family tracking for Despicable Me 3D today is translating into "amazing" attendance of $22 million for what could be a $55M-$60M weekend opening despite having two other 3D family films in the marketplace.
Senh: I was expecting a hit, but not this big of a hit. It does have an interesting and original premise and having Steve Carell voice the title character helps. Now Universal Pictures is officially in the animation game.
