"The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water", Nick and Paramount's second "SpongeBob SquarePants" movie, is easily trouncing new big-budget entries "Jupiter Ascending" and "Seventh Son". To boot, it will steal the top perch from reigning champion "American Sniper"!
"SpongeBob" will finish only 25% behind the impressive $69 million launch of Warner's "The Lego Movie", which opened on the same weekend in 2014.
"SpongeBob" scored well with reviewers, racking up a 74% fresh rating on the Rotten Tomatoes site. It achieved a "B" grade from Cinema Score; 50% of the audience was under 18 and gave the film an A- score.
Additionally, the $74 million family title made a nice splash last weekend overseas, where it grossed $8 million from its first five territories - Taiwan, Iceland, Mexico, Belgium and Holland.
"Out of Water" opens eleven years after "The Spongebob SquarePants Movie" played in theaters in 2004, grossing north of $130 million globally. The first film was directed by Stephen Hillenburg, creator of the television show. This time, series writer and executive producer Paul Tibbitt directs, with regular cast members Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Carolyn Lawrence and Mr. Lawrence reprising their roles. The movie also stars Antonio Banderas as the villainous pirate Burger Beard, "The IT Crowd" star Matt Berry as the voice of Bubbles, and former former Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Slash as himself.
"The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water" will be released in Digital 3D and 2D in cinemas across the UK on Friday 20th March 2015!
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