Russell Brand ruled the North American box office this weekend with a one-two punch. Not only did the British funnyman’s family hit Hop stay at the top spot for a second weekend, the remake of Arthur he headlines beat out three other new debuts to nab second place. Given the latter’s weak opening, however, that really isn’t saying much about the popularity of either Arthur or the other new releases. That underwhelming quartet helped the box office continue its downward spiral as it crawled toward the 2011 summer movie season where Universal’s Fast Five should kick start business later this month. The top ten was off 8% from last weekend and 14% from a year ago at this time.
Dropping a moderate 42% from its big debut last weekend, Universal’s Hop earned an estimated $21.7 million from 3,636 screens to bring its ten-day total to $68 million. The film has benefited from no direct competition over the past two weekends (it will square off against Fox’s Rio starting next Friday) and solid word-of-mouth from ticket buyers. Saturday matinee business has been the biggest benefactor for the comedy. With school vacations starting and Easter not occurring until April 24th, the film should continue to do well throughout the month, possibly to the tune of $115 million in sales.
Chances are that the same won’t be said about Warner’s Arthur, which stumbled its way into the number two spot with a less-than-intoxicating $12.6 million from 3,276 screens. That equates to a hangover-inducing per screen average of $3,848. The weak debut certainly wasn’t the result of a lack of selling the film by the studio or leads Russell Brand and Helen Mirren, who appeared everywhere from ‘American Idol’ to the recent Academy Awards to promote the movie. No, those unfunny ads, an overwhelming amount of negative reviews (25% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and perhaps the simple fact that a remake of a beloved comedy was something no one was asking for were what probably sunk this unnecessary remake from taking off.
Focus Features launched the latest film from Atonement director Joe Wright, the action flick Hanna, on 2,535 screens for a decent $4,861 per screen average and an okay $12.3 million estimated gross. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett, Hanna tells the story of a 16-year old girl (Ronan), trained to be an assassin in the wilds of Finland by her ex-CIA father (Bana), who heads out into the world for the first time on a mission of revenge. The film received the best reviews of the new releases (71% on Rotten Tomatoes) and could prove to be a mid-sized hit with adults if word-of-mouth proves positive.
After a solid debut last weekend with its horror film Insidious, new film studio FilmDistrict partnered up with Sony to release its latest film, the Christian-themed Soul Surfer. The result for the film on 2,214 screens was a decent $11 million in its first three days. Its $5,014 per screen average was the second best in the top ten. Sony marketed the film to churches, tween girls and their moms while also selling the appearance of singer Carrie Underwood. The film received mixed reviews from the nation’s critics (51% on RT), but it did receive a rock-solid “A+” Cinemascore rating from ticket buyers. A horror film one week and a religious-themed movie the next; you have to give FilmDistrict credit for being diverse.
Speaking of Insidious, the well-received $1 million production had the best hold of any film in the top ten. Easing a slight 27% from its debut, the James Wan-directed sleeper earned an estimated $9.6 million from 2,419 screens to bring its ten-day total to the $27 million mark. Depending on how the film holds over the next few weeks, the already-profitable film could finish between $50-55 million in domestic ticket sales.
Landing with a thud in sixth place was the third wide release of the weekend, Universal’s R-rated medieval comedy Your Highness. Despite the presence of recent Oscar-winner Natalie Portman, actors James Franco and Danny McBride and being directed by David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express), few were interested by the comedy as evidenced by its $9.5 million debut from 2,769 screens and a weak per-screen average of $3,438. Reviews for Highness mirrored those of Arthur, yielding a dire 25% approval rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Ticket buyers didn’t seem too jazzed by the film either, giving the movie a toxic “C+” Cinemascore rating.
Summit’s sci-fi thriller Source Code had a decent second round as the Duncan Jones-directed film eased by a moderate 39% to earn an estimated $9 million on 2,971 screens to bring its ten-day total to the $28.6 million mark. The Jake Gyllenhaal-starrer could reach the $50 million mark by the end of its run. In eighth place was Relativity’s spring hit Limitless which eased by 39% in its fourth weekend to bring in $5.7 million to bring its total to $64.3 million. The film should end its run between $75-80 million.
Rounding out the top ten were two moderate spring hits. In ninth place was Fox’s family comedy Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, dropping 51% from last weekend to earn $4.9 million from 2,881 screens this weekend for a new three week total of $45.4 million. The film should finish its run with approximately $50 million, roughly 20% below the 2010 original. Tenth place went to Lionsgate’s sleeper hit The Lincoln Lawyer which added $4.5 million in its fourth weekend to bring its total to the $46.3 million mark. Off 32%, the film should finish between $55-60 million.
Next weekend, Fox launches the computer-animated comedy Rio, Weinstein/Dimension brings the Scream franchise back to life with Scream 4 and Roadside Attractions debuts the latest directorial effort from Robert Redford, the historical drama The Conspirator.
– Shawn Fitzgerald
