Adam Sandler Clicks With Another Box Office Best

It seems as if at the push of a button, Adam Sandler movies make money no matter how ridiculous they look in trailers.

Fast forward to Click, Sandler’s latest vehicle, and sure enough the star’s film about a universal remote that controls his universe is number one at the box office.

Click definitely clicked with audiences, as it leapt out to a $40 million debut easily surpassing previous champion, the animated Cars, which managed a follow up of $22.5 million.

The other wide release of the weekend was Waist Deep, the story of an ex-con forced into a spree of robberies to collect ransom for his kidnapped son. The film stars Tyrese Gibson and opened strong with $9.5 million playing in just over 1,000 theatres. Click was shown in 3,749 theatres.

The start may have been upsetting to critics who wonder why people still go to Sandler films, but wasn’t surprising to industry experts that note Sandler’s most recent finished in the ballpark of his other comedic opening weekends.

Mr. Deeds, Anger Management, 50 First Dates and The Longest Yard, whose debuts ranged from $37 million to $47 million.

This time around Sandler plays an architect and family man that gets his hands on a magical remote to fast-forward and freeze-frame his life. The movie also stars Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken and David Hasselhoff.

“Sander’s one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

“Adam Sandler has this timeless appeal to audiences. He’s like a big kid, and people love that about him.”

Overall, the box office rose for the sixth consecutive weekend as the top-12 movies grossed $125.9 million.

So things are looking good in Hollywood with the Fourth of July weekend looming and the premiere of Superman Returns expected to bring big business with it.

Here’s the rest of the weekend’s top 10, with all figures estimated according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

   1. Click, $40 million.

   2. Cars, $22.5 million.

   3. Nacho Libre, $12.1 million.

   4. Waist Deep, $9.5 million.

   5. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, $9.2 million.

   6. The Lake House, $8.3 million.

   7. The Break-Up, $6.1 million.

   8. Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, $4.75 million.

   9. X-Men: The Last Stand, $4.4 million.

   10. The Da Vinci Code, $4 million.