Box Office Bulletin: A "Hop"ping Good Time!

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

Live action/animation hybrid "Hop" seems to have exceeded even the most optimistic of expectations by landing, if estimates hold, the largest opening weekend of 2011 with approximately $38.1 million in box office receipts.


NEW OPENINGS:

"Hop", made by Illumination Entertainment for $63 million, the studio who debuted with 2010's blockbuster, "Despicable Me", delivered the first true all-family film of 2011 and reaped the benefits. Despite the massive success of "Rango" and the well-attended "Gnomeo and Juliet", "Hop" looked like the year's first film which would engage everyone in the household and families responded. Despite most critics panning the film, distributor Universal Pictures won in the court of public opinion. Featuring voice work by Russell Brand, Hugh Laurie, and Hank Azaria, and James Marsden in the main live-action role, this Easter Bunny meets the Santa Claus storyline may elicit a sequel down the line. A second strong weekend looks promising as the next animated family film to come down the pike, the G-rated "Rio", lands on April 15.

A look at "Source Code", "Insidious", and a knockout "Sucker Punch" after the cut...


"Source Code", which opened to strong reviews, scored a mediocre $15 million opening. On Saturday morning, reports began surfacing that this is confirmation that despite being well-respected in the industry, Jake Gyllenhaal simply cannot open a film on his own. Our own Robert Hamer predicted this opening with his most recent "Weekend Openings" column. While Gyllenhaal may struggle with opening films, this also speaks to Summit Entertainment's consistent failure to open a movie impressively without the word "Twilight" in the title. (Okay...I will acknowledge "RED" and "Knowing", but find me another one...). "Source Code" should turn a domestic profit however, budgeted at $32 million, it should land in the $40-$45 million range when its run concludes.

The other high profile opening was horror film, "Insidious", from the creators of the "Saw" franchise. Shot for $1 million, and rated PG-13 with careful editing, this is a big success and critics were mixed in their response. Reportedly, "Insidious" frightened audiences and got them talking as box office totals held strong on Saturday and Sunday. Earning an estimated $13.5 million, FilmDistrict must be ecstatic with the reception their first release received.

Last week's #1 film, "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" suffered an expected 57% decline, largely because of the "Hop" response. The film still turned more than $10 million and raised its total take to a strong $38 million.

"Sucker Punch" is officially dead in the water, losing a harrowing 68.2% in its second weekend. The drop off is severe and could mean the official final box office haul may come in way under the anticipated $55-$57 million expected at the end of its run. Warner Bros. have already killed the promotions in most markets and are moving on quickly from this major misfire.

Notably, the PG-13 cut of "The King's Speech" failed to register a blip, earning a mere $1.2 million in its (re)opening at 1,000 locations. The 2010 Best Picture winner arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray April 19.

ALSO OF NOTE

This year's Oscar winning Best Foreign Language Film, "In A Better World", disappointed with a $35k opening on 4 screens. Sony Pictures Classics may roll out the film in a wider release or keep it in major markets for a few more weekends. Time will certainly tell.

Critical sensations, "Jane Eyre" and "Win Win" had strong weekends yet again, as their platform releases continue to reap strong numbers. "Jane Eyre" ran at 180 locations (up from 90 last week) and cleared $1.2 million, improving its haul to $3.5 million. "Win Win" gained 126 sites (showing at 149 locations) and surged another 153%, earning $1.18 million and climbing to an overall take of $1.9 million. Plans continue to slowly expand these films into more and more markets, week by week.

Elsewhere, many of the smaller, independent releases did not impress.

Roadside Attractions "The Last Godfather", a mafia comedy starring Harvey Keitel and Jason Mewes brought in $103k at 58 sites for a small $1,776 per screen average

David Schwimmer's festival favorite, "Trust", earned $60k at 28 sites for new studio, Millennium Entertainment.

Superhero comedy, "Super", starring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page, earned $53k at 11 locations, with a decent $4,800 per screen average.

"Cat Run", a bizarrely-titled sexually charged action/adventure, starring "Boardwalk Empire"'s Paz Vega as a high-priced escort, opened at 103 locations, earning a disastrous $291 per screen average for a paltry $30k haul.

The much buzzed about French horror spoof, "Rubber", about an inanimate tire which becomes a serial killer (!), did not have its numbers reported at press time.

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

1. "Hop" (Universal), $38.1 million, NEW
2. "Source Code" (Summit), $15.0 million, NEW
3. "Insidious" (FilmDistrict), $13.5 million, NEW
4. "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" (20th Century Fox), $10.2 million, $38.4 million, 2 wks
5. "Limitless" (Relativity), $9.4 million, $55.6 million, 3 wks
6. "The Lincoln Lawyer" (Lionsgate), $7.1 million, $39.6 million, 3 wks
7. "Sucker Punch" (Warner Bros.), $6.1 million, $29.9 million, 2 wks
8. "Rango" (Paramount), $4.6 million, $113.8 million, 5 wks
9. "Paul" (Universal), $4.3 million, $31.9 million, 3 wks
10. "Battle: Los Angeles" (Sony), $3.5 million, $78.5 million, 4 wks