Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, and other sources:Despite a slight overestimation, "Rio" still delivered the biggest opening weekend of 2011 with $39.2 million in box office receipts. "Rio" was just the latest in a steady stream of popular animated features for the year, following in the footsteps of "Hop", "Rango", and "Gnomeo and Juliet". "Rio" has already amassed $170 million in worldwide box office, as the film was released overseas a week ahead of its North American release.
"Rio"'s success was supposed to be in concert with comparable numbers for the much anticipated "Scream 4", a rekindling of the 90's franchise that earned $300 million domestically from its initial trio of films. 11 years went by, the stars of the franchise traveled up and down the A-list, but back together once more, excitement was there. Some terrific reviews, with most of them average-to-good, did not translate to audience. An opening Friday led to a diminished interest as the weekend went on and the film opened to a disappointing $18.7 million. The hopes of a comparable final gross are seemingly dashed as this muted "Scream" should earn approximately $50-$55 million by the end of its run.
Although initially reported as a Top 10 debut for Robert Redford and Roadside Attractions, "The Conspirator" opened at #11 with actual receipts counted. Top 10 debut or not, the film still delivered a comparable number to its estimate with $3.5 million earned at 707 locations. "The Conspirator" has become the largest opening gross for a Roadside Attractions film and could move past the Oscar-nominated "Winter's Bone" ($6.5 million) and "Bella" ($8.1 million) as the upstart's biggest success to date.
The Tea Party-endorsed "Atlas Shrugged Part I" amassed an intriguing $1.7 million at a mere 299 locations. The film, an adaptation from the writings of Ayn Rand, drew miserable reviews from critics but supporters of the film used those dismissals as a galvanizing effort in getting out to see the film. Rocky Mountain Films released the film strategically around the country and received a large amount of promotion for Right-wing and Republican-themed talk shows. This attention allowed Rocky Mountain to save on buying TV ad spots and other expensive marketing vehicles. Time will tell if this is going to sustain a second weekend and Rocky Mountain had not yet announced whether they would be expanding the film this coming weekend.
"Win Win" continues to grow and more analysis after the cut:
