Weekend box office estimates place Disney/Pixar's Wall-E at about $62.5 million, far exceeding the last Pixar movie Ratatouille, which grossed $47 million during its opening. According to Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian, Wall-E's theatrical performance is "slightly ahead" of expectations and it's obviously a good sign for THQ's video game based on the animated movie.

"...early reviews of the Wall-E video game are respectable (~70), but less relevant as the title is targeting a younger and casual audience. Importantly, we expect Wall-E to have 'long legs' over the year, with a healthy portion of unit sales likely to come over the Nov/Dec holiday period," Sebastian said.

According to Sebastian's report, Lazard estimates that Wall-E the game will sell about five million units worldwide for THQ during the 2009 fiscal year. For the sake of comparison, Cars sold around eight million units in its first year and Ratatouille sold around four million units.

Sebastian added that solid box office and video game sales trends may reflect a 'cocooning effect.' He continued, "With macro-induced pressures impacting consumer spending, we note that recent strength in box office receipts and ongoing solid video game sales are indications that consumers are inclined to seek low-cost forms of entertainment close to home. Historically, video game sales have proven resilient in periods of macroeconomic weakness and recession."

Lazard is maintaining a "Buy" rating on THQ's stock (THQI) with a price target of $31.

For more on Wall-E, check out our exclusive interview with Writer/Director Andrew Stanton, who talks about closing the Pixar/game gap and working with THQ.