Final Fantasy Takes A Tumble

Trumpeted as the most technologically ground-breaking film since Spielberg first brought the dinosaurs to life in Jurassic Park, Final Fantasy finally hit US screens last week – and was rudely upstaged over the weekend by Reese Witherspoon and a Chihuahua! Unfathomable as it may seem, Square Pictures' photo-real CGI masterpiece failed to hold the hearts of audiences, drawing in a surprisingly low $11.5 million over the weekend. The $137 million project showcases unprecedented realism in its digital characters and environments and boasts visuals that will simply take your breath away, but even credentials such as these were unable to maintain its presence at number one. Nabbing the box-office top-spot was the rather less technically innovative Legally Blonde, a Reese Witherspoon comedy about a ditzy sorority girl who wangles her way into Harvard Law school in an effort to win back her former boyfriend. Sporting pink dress, fluffy biro and with a preened Chihuahua under her arm, Witherspoon saw the film take a princely $20.4 million and stole the throne from under Final Fantasy’s digital heroine Dr Aki Ross. Proving that, where audiences are concerned, there really are no guarantees.