Two of the three new movies this weekend outperformed studio expectations. Hop was the number one film with families earning $38.1million. Talking CGI animal pictures typically don’t have great earning power, but the makers of Despicable Me assumed at least $30 million on their investment. One only needs to look at Marmaduke and Yogi Bear as two unfortunate examples. However, for every ten Hollywood goofs in this aggravating subgenre, every so often an Alvin and the Chipmunks comes along to give Tinseltown a reason to continue pumping knock offs down the factory line.
Source Code was spot on target with $15 million. Duncan Jones premiere entry Moon had a tiny but approving following. This latest effort shows the directors prowess with more mainstream work. The outstanding boost actually went to Insidious, a follow up to James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s game changer Saw and Dead Silence. Produced for a mere $800.000, it has already snuck up quietly and snatched $13.4 million. Unlike most movies in the genre, this horror had a fresh rating on rotten tomatoes going into the weekend to boost its sales.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules continued to hang on to good numbers since last week while Sucker Punch took a dive to place number seven. The “Diary” sequel is tracking well with its predecessor while Sucker Punch remains Zack Snyder’s most embarrassing showing to date. Currently, Battle: Los Angeles is in the tenth position; it and three other holdovers will drop off the charts next week.
The Top Ten
1. Hop - $38.1M (weekend)…$38.1M (gross)
2. Source Code - $15.0M…$15.0M
3. Insidious - $13.4M…$13.4M
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules - $10.2M…$38.3M
5. Limitless - $9.4M…$55.6M
6. The Lincoln Lawyer - $7.0M…$39.6M
7. Sucker Punch - $6.0M …$29.8M
8. Rango - $4.5M…$113.7M
9. Paul - $4.3M…$31.8M
10. Battle: Los Angeles - $3.5M …$78.4M
Hollywood has packed four movies into the second weekend of April. A couple of those motion pictures even look interesting. Opening the widest is Arthur starring Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, and Jennifer Garner. I never thought those three actors would be in a film together. Anyway, the titular character is an infantilized rich man who is pledged to marry a woman he does not love. His nanny of sorts follows him around when he gives up his fortune to become a working class man. Fish-out-of-water comedies can be hits or misses.
Oddly enough, another comedy will go head to head with Arthur. Your Highness is brought to you by the makers of Pineapple Express, a successful movie featuring the same James Franco and Danny McBride. It made $87 million domestic in 2008, and all that without the help of an Oscar winner. It plays 2600 locations to Arthur’s 3200. Hanna will also open wide on Friday. The action adventure featuring Saoirse Ranan and Cate Blanchett may struggle due to the focus on female leads and the overseas accents. Those attributes are less relatable historically, though the film has positive early reviews.
Soul Surfer adds a sports drama into the mix. If you couldn’t tell from the poster, this is the real life story of a surfer whose are was bitten off by a shark. It is a faith based movie opening on 2100 screens.
