Hang-Gliding Box Office

Aquaman moves over for the Cranston-Hart dramedy Upside, and Spider-man Into the Spider-verse continues in the top half of the Top Ten...

THREE DAYS OF GROSSES

1) The Upside -- $19.6M -- $19.6M (1st weekend)

2) Aquaman -- 3,863 (-321) -- $17.3M (-44%) -- $287.9M

3) A Dog’s Way Home -- 3,090 -- $11.3M -- $11.3M (1st weekend)

4) …Spider-Verse -- 3,029 (-390) -- $9M (-31%) -- $147.8M

5) Escape Room -- 2,717 -- $8.9M (-51%) -- $32.4M

6) Mary Poppins 2 -- 3,253 (-837) -- $7.2M (-54%) -- $150.7M

7) Bumblebee -- 3,303 (-294) -- $6.8M (-49%) -- $108.5M

8) On The Basis Of Sex -- 1,923 (+1,811) -- $6.2M (+287%) -- $10.6M

9) The Mule -- 3,329 (+117) -- $5.5M (-39%) -- $90.5M

10) Vice -- 1,724 (-810) -- $3.3M (-43%) -- $35.9M

Meanwhile, Ralph Breaks the Internet falls out of the Main List and now perches at #14. Its domestic haul stands at $190,449,603, with a worldwide gross of $434,149,603. (By contrast, Dr. Seuss' The Grinch has earned $269,848,350 domestically and $504,948,350 globally.)

Stock Awards!!

Diz Co.'s Bob Iger earns some nice moolah...

Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger saw his pay rise to $65.7 million, an 80% increase over a year ago, according to documents filed today with the SEC.

The compensation reflects the generous stock package Iger was awarded as incentive to remain with the company past his planned retirement date, and lead Disney through its acquisition of much of 21st Century Fox’s film and television assets.

Iger earned a salary of nearly $2.9 million, up from $2.5 million a year ago. He collected options worth $8.3 million and non-equity compensation of $18 million.

But the biggest chunk of Iger’s compensation came from the stock award connected to the Fox deal, which was valued at $35.35 million. Disney notes that the stock ultimately could be worth as much as $149.6 million if the acquisition wins regulatory approval and closes. ...

It's worth noting that Mr. Iger has over-stayed his retirement date to shepherd newly-acquired Fox assets into the Empire of the Mouse. (And happily, conveniently, collected a bunch more money.)

It's also worth noting that Mr. Iger's heir apparent was ... all of a sudden ... found to be wanting as the Chairman's exit date neared. Remarkably, this same phenomenon occurred with Big Iger's predecessor Michael Eisner when his end-date approached. (And there was scuttlebutt at the time that Mr. Iger was also not up to Eisner's exacting standards. How about that?)

Funny how that works. Much like imperial Rome during royal successions, except without the long knives.

The lesson to be gleaned here, of course, is its hard for well-compensated execs to say goodbye when exit-time approaches. And it's not just the money. It's also the power and perks and the fun of being the emperor of all you survey.

Musical Animation Execs

At Skydance, Bill Damaschke (formerly of DreamWorks Animation) is out, and the Man from Pixar is in.

John Lasseter, the Pixar co-founder who was forced to resign from the Walt Disney Company in June after complaints about unwanted touching in the workplace, has become one of the first men toppled in the #MeToo era to find a new Hollywood perch.

David Ellison, a “Mission: Impossible” producer and founder of Skydance Media, a production company affiliated with Paramount Pictures, said on Wednesday that Mr. Lasseter would become Skydance’s animation chief. Mr. Lasseter, 61, will start this month at the company. ...

Mr. Lasseter might have been pushed out the air lock at Disney due to busy hands, but Skydance's Ellison sees more benefit than cost in hiring Mr. Lasseter. If Mr. Lasseter can deliver animated blockbusters or even fair-sized hits, then CEO Ellison's new hire might have been worth it. But there is a bit of surprise and blowback regarding Sundance Animation's new executive.

... “He’s a talented guy but, really, has there been any contrition?” wondered one film executive who declined to be identified. ...

If John Lasseter can deliver a big hit, that will likely ease a lot of high-rollers' minds at Skydance.

But Lasster isn't the only animation mucky-muck who's making a move...

... Universal announced this afternoon that DreamWorks Animation Group President Chris deFaria, after two years in the position, is exiting the studio in the coming months.

In his place, Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley has promoted DWA TV president Margie Cohn who will now oversee both film and television operations. ...

I don't know who was disappointed in Mr. Defaria's stewardship (How to Train Your Dragon 3 has opened well Down Under, after all) but today's action points to Donna Langley being more positive about Ms. Cohn than Mr. deFaria. There's really no other conclusion to come to, is there?

Animated Robots!

Netflix continues to expand its slate of animated shows. It's not just about talking animals ...

Netflix on Monday took off the wraps on Love, Death & Robots, an adult-skeweing animated anthology series for the streaming giant that will be executive produced by David Fincher and Tim Miller via the latter’s Blur Studios. ...

[T]he 18-part series will span sci-fi, fantasy, horror and dark comedy, with episodes between 5-15 minutes long each created by different animation teams from around the world. Each will feature a unique style, from 2D to photo-real 3D CGI. ...

David Fincher is a director of live action: commercials, music videos, features, television, you name it. He directed Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. He directed Fight Club, Panic Room, and The Social Network (among others). And there were the first two chapters of Netflix's House of Cards.

Tim Miller is the director of Deadpool and the upcoming Terminator 6. Miller is also the co-founder of Blur studios.

In times gone by, neither of these men would be diving into animation. In times gone by (1920s to 1980s) live-action movers and shakers -- with the exception of Steven Spielberg -- had less than zero interest in getting heavily involved with animation. Most of the climbers in the movie industry had ambitions that ran in the other direction: people got into cartoons with the hope of spring-boarding into live-action.

In recent times, that progression has often been reversed. Live-action directors become directors/producers of animation. Where once cartoons were the small and shabby side-show to real movie-making (features with flesh-and-blood actors). But that's no longer the case. Animation is now a commercial powerhouse, rivaling super hero films. That being the case, it's really not a surprise that high-rollers from the the real-life side of motion pictures are happy to journey into the land of animation.

A Surprise?

Producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller accept the Golden Globe for best animated feature Spider-Man, Into the Spider-Verse.

(Sometimes getting let go from a Star Wars movie that then under-performs can be a good thing)...

And the team's comments backstage (plus a false exit) ...

Oceanic Box Office

Aquaman (with tons of animation) continues to rule the box office chart. And Bumblebee (#5), also heavily animated, nudges up against $100 million. Fully animated features cling to rungs #4 (Spider-man and #9 (Ralph 2) ...

THREE DAYS OF GROSSES

1) Aquaman -- 4,184 (+59) -- $30.7M (-41%) -- $259.7M

2) Escape Room -- 2,717 -- $18M -- $18M (Ist week)

3) Mary Poppins 2 -- 4,090 -- $15.8M (-44%) -- $138.7M

4) …Spider-Verse -- 3,419 (-394) -- $13M (-31%) -- $133.8M

5) Bumblebee -- 3,597 (+47) -- $12.8M (-39%) -- $97.1M

6) The Mule -- 3,212 (+425) -- $9M (-26%) -- $81.1M

7) Vice -- 2,534 (+92) -- $5.8M (-25%) -- $29.7M

8) Second Act -- 2,523 (-84) -- $4.9M (-33%) -- $32.9M

9) Ralph 2 -- 2,050 (-293) -- $4.68M (-30%) -- $187.1M

10) Holmes & Watson -- 2,780 (+4) -- $3.4M (-54%) -- $28.4M

Outside the Top Ten, The Grinch now stands at #17; domestically it's collected $269,612,735. Worldwide it owns $497,212,735.

Ralph Breaks the Internet has now collected $404,764,171 on a global basis.

Lastly, Aquaman now has a worldwide total of $940.7M

with a billion dollars heaving into view in the next five to seven days.

Axl Saves the World!

... or at least prevents serious damage from an ornery-looking meteor.

I believe this is Mr. Rose's first new tune since '08. And the first track on which he's backed by Bugs and Porky, not usually, so far as I know, part of the lineup.