This week’s spin is all about the revisions. The 8:17 AM Monday version of David Germain’s AP writeup stressed an action star’s humiliation at the hands of an imaginary rodent, leading with the headline, “Cartoon Rat Beats Bruce Willis.” At some point in the morning, the imagery was softened somewhat; the 9:55 headline, “Rat Rules Box Office With $47 Million,” takes Willis’ defeat out of the equation.

Over at Variety, Pamela McClintock was quick to note in her Saturday morning report that Ratatouille’s $16.5 million first day was “the lowest first-day opening for a Pixar film since Toy Story 2 in 1999.” By Sunday night, when the animated film’s massive victory over all comers was apparent, McClintock’s revised report described the film’s weekend-long ascendancy to the top spot as a “simmer.” For her part, Nikki Finke’s preferred cooking metaphor is “roasted,” which seems like a bit of an overstatement.) Remember, on Friday McClintock’s coverage gave the Die Hard sequel the edge in the race for to the top spot.

Meanwhile, while his Hollywood Reporter pre-weekend coverage had given the Pixar film the edge, Gregg Kilday notes that if Live Free’s Wednesday and Thursday receipts are taken into consideration, “Die Hard ended the weekend with a five-day estimated cume of $48.2 million, a whisker ahead of Ratatouille’s three-day gross.” Proof that an almost-senior citizen can cook a rat–he just needs five days and, like, a crock pot.

More on these movies at Spout:

Live Free or Die Hard
Ratatouille
Toy Story 2