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Bring out the Robotic Buster Keaton

Kim Hollis: WALL-E is expected to follow the trend of other Pixar releases by having huge legs. Given that consumers will tell their friends that this is largely a silent film for the first half, do you think legs could be more of a problem than would ordinarily be the case for a Pixar film?

Tim Briody: Considering the rapturous response to it, I don't think it will be a problem at all. With the opening it's had, I wouldn't be surprised it if eventually settles in as the #2 Pixar film, box office wise.

Joel Corcoran: I think it's a wash. Word-of-mouth might be more of a problem among the typical family viewers who want to take their kids to films like Shrek or Madagascar, but I think the "silent film" aspect will help bring people in from other demographics. And I think Tim is spot-on correct when he predicts that WALL-E ends up as Pixar's #2 film in terms of box office.

Kevin Chen: Lack of dialogue only hurts if the action onscreen fails to be engaging. Pixar has been entertaining people for a decade with wordless short films prior to the main feature (with the exception of Boundin') so clearly this is not new territory for them. It's a non-issue save for critics/reviewers who want to comment on its novelty.





David Mumpower: Kevin's right. I would even argue that the film is significantly less magical once the characters start talking a lot. The silent movie moments are a bit too Mr. Bean for me at times, but the first half of WALL-E is damned near perfect. After that, it loses some momentum. As for legs, we're heading into one of the busiest box office periods of the year. WALL-E is going to be a juggernaut over the next ten days.

Scott Lumley: You cannot seriously be asking that question, Kim. It's a Pixar film. It's excellent. It's crushed all box office competition this week, and from what I hear, repeat viewings are going to be common. This is going to rack up close to $300 million domestically before it's all said and done.

Jason Lee: Well, Remy had four legs in Rataouille and WALL-E has none, so we could be in trouble (pause for laughter). All punning aside, the reviews, as always, have been amazing and the Pixar brand is stronger than ever. The visuals are specatcular, the main character is adorable and even Kung Fu Panda will gross around 3.5 times its opening weekend. If Kung Fu Panda can do 3.5, I say that WALL-E (like Ratatouille) will do at least 4.

Daron Aldridge: I am more concerned about the fact that the projections based upon the $23 million Friday had a weekend tally closer to $70 million, including $68.7 million from BOP. I am by no means blaming word-of-mouth for a lower multiplier than expected other than there might have been more people wanting to get their kids to the theater on Friday for something new since Kung Fu Panda was entering its fourth weekend. Given that this is a big victory for a fairly nontraditional story, I doubt anyone will linger on the lower multiplier. Also, don't forget that legs could depend upon the size of John Ratzenberger's role. I wonder if there is any correlation between his "screen" time and the box office total. Hmmmmmm.

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