Summertime — and the Movies are Jumpin’ (CMCSA, TWX, DIS, LGF)

This past weekend turned out better than expected for Hollywood’s movie makers, even though a heavily populated part of the country was struggling with power outages. A boy and his stuffed bear in a movie called “Ted” led the box office parade, with $54.1 million in tickets for Universal Studios’ parent Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA). Time Warner Inc.’s (NYSE: TWX) “Magic Mike” from Warner Bros. pulled in $39.2 million with a story about a male stripper. Who says there’s no variety in American movies?

The animated film “Brave” from Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) and Pixar drew $34 million on its second weekend, and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) opened with $26.4 million in ticket sales for “Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection.” Total weekend box office came in at $207.7 million, up 3% from last year’s Fourth of July weekend and the opening of the Transformers movie.

Americans like going to movies, especially during triple-digit heat.

Paul Ausick