Did audiences really prefer ‘WALL-E’ the robot to Angelina Jolie in ‘Wanted’?

What happened

Pixar’s latest animated featured WALL-E, which centers on a mute robot, snagged the number one spot at the box office over the weekend beating Wanted, which stars Angelina Jolie as an assassin. But although WALL-E earned more money, some critics are crediting Wanted with a statistical win.

What the commentators said

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“A lonely little robot made millions of friends during the weekend,” said David Germain in the Associated Press, “and even outgunned Angelina Jolie.” WALL-E took in $62.5 million to Wanted’s $51.1 million. And WALL-E “maintains the perfect track record of Pixar”—all nine of their films have been “critical and commercial successes.”

Technically, “pound for pound, Wanted was the bigger film,” said Joal Ryan in E! Online. It debuted in “800 fewer theaters than WALL-E,” and “outgrossed the animated movie by nearly $500 per screen.” Not to mention the fact that “Wanted is rated R, while WALL-E is rated G for ‘good for a kid’s discount.’”

Both movies did really well, said Dean Goodman in Reuters. “Animation giant Pixar scored its ninth consecutive No. 1” with WALL-E, but “Jolie achieved a personal best” for highest grossing film with Wanted, beating “2005’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which opened to $50 million.” Together, WALL-E and Wanted helped push overall box office sales “to their highest level of the year.”