What Is 'Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos'? Latino Moviegoers, Mexican Cartoon Wins Weekend Box Office

A Mexican cartoon with a Spanish title many Americans can't translate won the Labor Day Weekend box office. The surprise showing for “Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos,” which in English means “a rooster with many eggs,” was another victory for Latino moviegoers, who have increasingly shown their clout at the box office in recent years.

“Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos” racked up $4.4 million over the holiday weekend across 395 screens, outshining big hits like “Straight Outta Compton” or “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.” U.S. distributor Pantelion Films has used the Labor Day Weekend in the past to bring out Latino moviegoers, such as with last year's hit “Cantinflas,” a biopic about the Mexican comedian. Pantelion also scored big with 2013’s “Instructions Not Included,” the highest-grossing Spanish-language film in U.S. history, Variety reported.

“It’s a big family weekend for Hispanics, and they tend to go to the movies as a family,” said Paul Presburger, Pantelion’s chief executive officer. “It’s known as a weekend where major studios don’t release many new pictures, so where they’re zigging, we’re zagging.”

Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, and they have turned out in large numbers in recent years at struggling movie houses competing against home movie services such as Netflix. Latinos purchased 25 percent of all movie tickets sold in 2013, but represented 17 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Motion Picture Association of America’s year-end study.

“Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos” tells the story of Toto the egg and his journey to becoming a young rooster. The film was already popular in Mexico as the third in an animated trilogy. But it was the first movie from the series to be released in the U.S. To turn out moviegoers, the studio advertised heavily on drive-time radio ads on Mexican-American and Spanish contemporary music stations. It also held promotions at supermarkets in neighborhoods with Latino populations.

“Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos” has a PG-13 rating. “Like most animated films, this one has a lot of double entendres,” said Presburger, with “very Mexican” humor.