Box Office Bulletin: A "Brand" established...

Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, and other sources:

It was great news and somewhat disappointing news for British comedic actor Russell Brand at the box office this weekend. His starring turn as the animated "E.B." in the family film "Hop" retained the #1 spot at the box office for a second weekend in a row. His lead performance in the remake of Dudley Moore's 1981 comedy, "Arthur", opened at #2. While "Hop" easily won the weekend, "Arthur" underperformed expectations and may slide to #3 when the actual figures are reported Monday afternoon. At this time, Brand stars in the Top 2 films in the country - an impressive feat not to be discounted.

NEW OPENINGS:

"Arthur" vastly underperformed the expectations Warner Bros. placed upon it. Tendering a $40 million budget, studio executives pegged "Arthur" to fall in the $18-$20 million range for its opening. This expectation matched our own Robert Hamer's prediction in his Weekend Openings column. Landing at an estimated $12.6 million take, that $40 million budget may be tough to achieve domestically, as word-of-mouth and reviews sour the interest. Brand will likely not suffer much from this professionally as he remains a star on the rise.

A look at the surprise breakout of "Hanna", a snubbing of "Your Highness", and a good showing for "Insidious", along with everything else from the weekend after the cut.


"Hanna" may be the talk of the weekend with a strong $12.3 million opening. The film, starring Saoirse Ronan as a trained teenage assassin, drew a grander sum than anticipated. Critics came on board and an effective and compelling trailer added to the intrigue. Likewise budgeted for a reported $40 million, "Hanna" could hang on with audiences looking for a different and fresher take on their action film and in some ways, the film could emerge as a breakout success. "Scream 4" will pull some of the audience away who might be interested next weekend, but the success, much like the film, is a pleasant surprise for all involved.

FilmDistrict's second offering in as many weeks, "Soul Surfer", which recounts the story of teenage surfer Bethany Hamilton and her return to surfing after losing her right arm in a shark attack, also exceeded expectations with a projected $11.1 million opening. Critics were mixed but Christian groups and churches championed the film and bus trips and gatherings were arranged for opening weekends across the country. Certainly "Rio" will replace this as next weekend's go-see family film, but "Soul Surfer" should be profitable by mid-week with a modest $15 million budget.

"Your Highness" didn't draw nearly the crowd Universal expected and the film's mediocre $9.5 million start is way, way down from expectations. A stoner-style medieval fantasy comedy, the film marks co-writer and star Danny McBride's first name-above-the-title project. With James Franco and Natalie Portman in high-profile roles in the film, some involved do not understand how this missed. Poor reviews and a declining weekend attendance led to this downfall. Plus, the movie is pretty terrible, in my humble opinion.

Much of the remaining Top 10 held audiences impressively. "Insidious" lost just over one-quarter of its opening weekend audience and banked another $9.7 million, placing it ahead of "Your Highness" at #5 for the weekend. Remember, the film cost a mere $1.5 million to make, and its expected overall haul rests at $27 million thus far. Add this with the success of "Soul Surfer" and FilmDistrict has been a much-buzzed about studio in the last few weeks for understandable reasons.

While "Source Code" did drop from #2 to #7, it lost only 38% in its second weekend, which is not all that bad for a science-fiction film. While Summit Entertainment still cannot deliver a robust hit movie on a consistent basis, "...Code" will turn a profit and probably a pretty decent third weekend, landing at or near $40 million for an overall run at the box office.

ALSO OF NOTE

The latest IMAX release, "Born To Be Wild", narrated by Morgan Freeman, scored a decent opening of $850k at 206 sites.

Lionsgate dropped the Mexican romantic comedy, "No Eres Tu, Soy Yo" in 200 locations and earned about $600k, which may or may not have matched expectations.

Another eagerly anticipated indie from Oscilloscope, "Meek's Cutoff", starring Michelle Williams and Bruce Greenwood started at 2 screens in New York City and earned an impressive $11,150 per screen average. However, "Blank City", a documentary about the 1970s New York punk rock scene scored the highest per-screen average of all reported films, pocketing $12k at its one location.

THE TOP 10 (Estimates, with Actuals reported on Monday)

1. "Hop" (Universal), $21.7 million, $68.2 million, 2 wks
2. "Arthur" (Warner Bros.), $12.6 million, NEW
3. "Hanna" (Focus), $12.3 million, NEW
4. "Soul Surfer" (TriStar/FilmDistrict), $11.1 million, NEW
5. "Insidious" (FilmDistrict), $9.7 million, $27.1 million, 2 wks
6. "Your Highness" (Universal), $9.5 million, NEW
7. "Source Code" (Summit), $9.1 million, $28.6 million, 2 wks
8. "Limitless" (Relativity), $5.7 million, $64.4 million, 4 wks
9. "Diary...Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" (Fox), $4.9 million, $45.5 million, 3 wks
10. "The Lincoln Lawyer" (Lionsgate), $4.6 million, $46.5 million, 4 wks