‘The Simpsons Movie‘ is blowing away the competition at the box office.  Not only this weekend’s competition but it is smashing box office records for the entire summer.  Homer, Bart and crew had the 17th best opening night of all-time last night.  Read a review of this film here.

What a shocker! I’m told 20th Century Fox’s official Friday estimate shows The Simpsons Movie made $30 million Friday — or what the studio hoped its toon would make all weekend — and could have an $80 million weekend. That’s more than Transformers made on its opening day and best single day this summer, and good enough for The Simpsons to slot into the Hollywood’s Top 17 opening days of all time (right behind the $30.1 mil of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones). But the well reviewed (a score of 88% positive critiques on Rotten Tomatoes) and wide release (playing in 3,922 North American theaters) pic managed an outstanding per screen average of 7,649 Friday. It’s also playing huge overseas. (See below.) Some naysayers didn’t believe the movie could pack a punch, given that The Simpsons is all over television on network and in syndication. Hah!

The Simpsons are hugely popular and that I am sure played mightily in the success of the film.  I also believe that the movie is fresh, not a sequel (i.e. Shrek 3, Pirates 3, Spiderman 3, Transformers 2, Harry Potter, Fantastic Four, Die Hard 4, Oceans Thirteen, Evan Almighty), and the movie buying public drove in hordes to see this cartoon because on that fact.