Cars 2 | featured news

Pixar’s “Cars 2” overcame surprisingly negative critical reviews to overperform at the weekend box office, selling an estimated $68 million at North American theaters. That No. 1 finish extends Pixar’s perfect box-office track record — all 12 of its feature films have opened in first place. How sales hold up, however, will be watched carefully. “Cars 2,” directed by John Lasseter, chief creative officer at Pixar, represents an end to the studio’s perfect critical track record; only about 34 percent of reviews were positive, according to RottenTomatoes.com, by far the worst for any Pixar title.

On Friday, Pixar demonstrated its reliability again with the roll-out of Cars 2. The manufacturer's latest model posted an estimated $25.7 million out of the gate, but many moviegoers were hot for Bad Teacher as well. Riding on approximately 7,700 screens at 4,115 locations, Cars 2 delivered the second highest-grossing opening day yet for a Pixar movie, behind Toy Story 3's $41.1 million, and the talking car sequel is poised for a weekend gross in the Pixar-typical $70 million range.
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The Wall Street Journal's headline says it all: " 'Cars 2' Is a Dollar-Driven Edsel." OMG! Pixar's amazing critical winning streak is over. And in a big way. Until now, Pixar had released 11 movies, none of which had ever dipped below 70 on the Rotten Tomatoes fresh rating scale, which aggregates reviews from around the country. In fact, except for the original "Cars," none of Pixar's 11 films had ever ended up with less than a 90 score at Rotten Tomatoes, with the "Toy Story" threesome all earning either a 99 or a 100.

Pixar fans will undoubtedly know John Lasseter, the man who directed the first two TOY STORY adventures and A BUG’S LIFE. But when he left to be Chief Creative Officer at Disney, his involvement with Pixar lessened considerably. But what’s brought him back? Well, CARS 2 apparently has a few “story issues” that first-time director Brad Lewis can’t quite sort out. Reportedly,...
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