High School Musical 3 propels itself to the top on opening weekend

Walt Disney Co., first intensely popular television movie franchise, "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" earned the top spot during its first weekend of release on the silver screen.

According to Reuters, "The movie sold $16.9 million worth of tickets during its opening day on Friday, Disney said, and will easily beat pundits' forecasts of a weekend haul in the $40 million range. Disney declined to give a weekend estimate until Sunday."

It seems that "High School Musical: Senior Year" didn't just crack the top honor, it achieved another movie highlight. It ended the four-year winning streak of "Saw," the gruesome horror movie franchise as "Saw V," grabbed the No. 2 spot with weekend sales of $30.q million. Reuters also mentioned, "Beginning in 2004, the first four films all opened at No. 1 on consecutive Octobers."

Much to the diehard fans delight "High School Musical: Senior Year" has no signs of giving up its box office honors yet. According to the Worchester Telegram, "All those winsome East High Wildcats are back from parts one and two of the freakishly successful Disney Channel franchise - Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, et al. - as are mad-genius director Kenny Ortega and writer Peter Barsocchini. Only now, they have more expensive toys to play with, so the production values are glossier and the musical numbers are splashier."

Yet, the movie is unlikely to bring forth new fans. The film's target market is 9 year olds and unless you are a parent or some close relative of one, you probably have skipped over is phenomenon without much hubbub.