A fish tale, by a yarnspinner's definition, is an exaggerated story. It's a whale of a tale born out of something small -- like, say, a clownfish in a dentist office aquarium. Well, the success of Pixar's
Not long ago, the notion that Nemo and Neo would slug it out for box office supremacy would have seemed ludicrous. After all, Marvel's
Apparently not. Closing in on $275 million domestically, Nemo is more than just the year's most successful theatrical release. Over the weekend, it passed Shrek to become the country's second-highest grossing animated full-length feature of all time. Next up is Disney's
That Pixar's fish flick out-grossed DreamWorks' Sinbad over the weekend is every bit as impressive. After all, movies tend to open strong and fade quickly, but Nemo has been a top-five staple for six weeks now. Sinbad opened a disappointing sixth, and it likely only gets worse from there.
What does all this mean for Pixar? The studio has produced five consecutive hits. That's a rarity in the hit-and-miss world of celluloid. Negotiations are underway with Disney to extend their partnership under terms more favorable to Pixar. To that end, with each week of Nemo's buoyancy, it seems safe to assume that Pixar is gaining more and more leverage.
Can Pixar do no wrong? David Gardner seems to think so; the stock remains one of his top picks in Motley Fool Stock Advisor. What do you think? Is Finding Nemo the best Pixar movie, or simply the most successful financially? Discuss this and more in the Pixar Discussion Board. Only on Fool.com.