'Toy Story 3' Pixar's Biggest Opening Ever

The much-anticipated 'Toy Story 3' has set box-office records, including the best opening weekend of any Pixar film.

'Toy Story 3' took in an estimated $109 million over the June 18-20 weekend, eclipsing previous Pixar champ, "The Incredibles," which opened at $70 million.

It's also the best opening weekend haul for a June release ever with "Toy Story 3" beating previous record-holder "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which took in $108.9 million in 2009.

It's also the best opening weekend ever for a G-rated film, beating previous record-holder "Finding Nemo" which opened with $70.2 million in 2003.

From The Wall Street Journal:

Summer finally arrived for Hollywood as "Toy Story 3" delivered the biggest opening weekend in Pixar Animation Studios' 15-year history, kicking box-office grosses into gear after a slow Memorial Day weekend and several further less-than-stellar weeks.

The $109 million domestic opening solidified a box-office hot streak for Pixar parent Walt Disney Co., which after years of lackluster performance, can now claim the top three openings of 2010: "Iron Man 2," produced by Disney's Marvel Studios, "Alice in Wonderland" and "Toy Story 3." The title that was bumped out of the No. 3 position for the year, "Shrek Forever After," took in $71 million its first weekend.

Outside the U.S., "Toy Story 3" took in an estimated $44.8 million; it has yet to open in about 75% of overseas markets, including most of Europe.

The new, 3-D "Toy Story" installment has drawn rave reviews and word of mouth among moviegoers. Critics have compared the flick, about children's playthings that come to life when humans aren't around, to Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams. Audiences bought $4 million worth of tickets for midnight showings on Thursday. A handful of those late-night screenings capped triple-feature bills that played the 15-year-old franchise in its entirety.

Read the full story at the newspaper's Web site.