Walt Disney's latest animated film "Big Hero 6" soared past Christopher Nolan's space adventure "Interstellar" during the weekend box office with a staggering 6 million lead in ticket sales.
Unlike what was expected, the two science-fiction films were far from having a close race during their opening weekend, with the animated film scoring a solid win at $56.2 million to the space epic's $49.6 million ticket sales since it opened on Tuesday.
A giant inflatable robot created by the same geniuses behind "Wreck-It Ralph" and "Frozen" has proven Disney as this round's winner over "Interstellar," a post-apocalyptic space movie that featured Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway.
In "Interstellar," McConaughey and Hathaway played the roles of astronauts who left the Earth to look for a new abode for humanity because the planet is dying.
Meanwhile, "Big Hero 6" showcases the tale of a boy and his cuddly balloon robot named Baymax, loosely based on a Marvel comic hero in an adventure to fight bad guys.
Despite the similar space hero type of stories, the animated contender has proven its strength in terms of the Mouse House's marketing strategy as well as Disney's branding since it is its biggest stand-alone project (non-Pixar) ever.
"It shows that there is room for more than one big film in the marketplace as long as they aren't chasing the same demographics," Forbes's Scott Mendelson wrote.
According to Mendelson, Disney's initial sales after capitalizing in the adorable sidekick robot Baymax could be expanded further by highlighting "the colorful supporting cast of would-be science nerd superheroes" in their follow-up campaigns.