Box Office Bulletin: "Fast Five" Obliterates the Competition...

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

The Summer Movie Season, which typically kicks off in the first weekend of May, hit early with a staggering and stunning record-setting opening for "Fast Five", the fifth film in "The Fast & The Furious" franchise. Hauling in a likely overestimated but still incredible $83.6 million, "Fast Five" not only had the biggest opening ever for the series, but delivered the largest April opening weekend of all time, breaking its own record-setting $71 million "Fast and Furious" entry in April 2009. People knew the film would deliver the biggest opening weekend of the year, but this debut, even when revised actuals drop the number a bit on Monday, far exceeded most expectations. Speculation turned from the worry of diminished box office returns to a tone of optimism that perhaps "Fast Five" could kickstart a wave of films which will have wide-ranging commercial appeal. We shall see.

While "Rio", "Rango", and "Hop" had delivered the biggest openings so far in 2011, "Fast Five" more than doubled the best of those openings and the film already ranks as the 7th biggest grossing film of 2011. "Fast Five"could reach $100 million in total receipts by next weekend when "Fast Five" lines up next to the eagerly anticipated "Thor". And what if "Fast Five" can hold off and outrun "Thor"? Stay tuned...

NEW OPENINGS:

The brutal reality of the other weekend's openings is that no one truly cared about any of the other offerings. The estimated per screen averages for Disney's "Prom" and The Weinstein Company's "Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil" were on par with films that have played for 4 or 5 weeks. Although in Disney's case, the poor performance may not be too disappointing in the long run.

"Prom", which was advertised as a non-musical "High School Musical" style film earned $5 million with a dismal $1,832 per screen average. Dismal that is, unless you are budgeted at $8 million, in which case the film may be profitable by the weekend. Nikki Finke at Deadline reports however that this is still going to be recognized as a major disappointment for Disney and raises questions as to why the film was not just morphed into a 4th "HSM" feature. Whether the film is a bomb or not can be left open to interpretation, but Disney execs are spinning this as a success. With the rush to DVD and probable multiple airings on the Disney Channel by the fall, "Prom" may not be as terrible a performer as many are speculating.

There really is no spin that can be leveraged at The Weinstein Company's "Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil" however. Opening to a paltry $4.1 million and $1,653 per screen average at 2,505 locations, "Hoodwinked Too!" delivered the worst 3-D opening of all time for a wide release. Budgeted at $30 million, this ill-conceived sequel will likely lose money and provide a reversal of fortunes when compared to the surprising $51 million haul of 2005's "Hoodwinked". Nikki Finke shared an insider's Email on the film, which stated: "Between Blue Valentine, Company Of Men, Scream 4, and this film, they are starting to give back all the money they made on The King's Speech." Ouch.

Although it opened at a scant 875 locations, the comic book adaptation, "Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night" was a non-starter for OmniLab Media and Freestyle Releasing. Not screened for critics ahead of its release, this comedic/horror hybrid starring former "Superman", Brandon Routh, arrived with little in the way of promotion. Grossing $885k, fans of the supernatural horror series were reportedly not pleased at the film being more comedy and less chills and thrills. Italian audiences, where the comic originated from, were also less than thrilled last month when the film opened there.

Other notable trends and happenings after the cut!

Box Office Bulletin: "Rio" holds off "Madea"...

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

Another strong weekend at the box office saw animated and family fare reap the benefits of a heavily attended Easter weekend. "Rio" retained the #1 spot in estimated box office figures, edging out Tyler Perry's latest Madea film, while "Hop" saw an expected Easter bump to cross the $100 million mark in gross earnings.

"Rio" dropped a modest 32% in estimated figures, moving its domestic 10-day box office gross to $81 million. Worldwide the film continues to have massive success, earning more than $202 million in 17 days. While tracking seems to indicate that "Fast Five", the fifth film in the "Fast & The Furious" franchise will debut strong in the April 29 box office weekend, "Rio" should hold on for a strong third weekend. No doubt about it, "Rio" is a bonafide smash.

The other animated feature in wide release, "Hop" saw an uptick of 16% in the Easter weekend, the holiday that the film is centered around. If estimates hold, "Hop" will become the third film to surpass $100 million so far in 2011, joining "Rango" and "Just Go With It" in achieving that milestone. Expectations are that "Hop" will freefall, perhaps as early as next weekend, with "Rio" delivering strong numbers and two other family films, "Hoodwinked Too..." and "Prom" attempting to pull dollars from the family audience.

NEW OPENINGS:

"Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family" was not the director's best opening but performed on pace with many of his other offerings. "...Family", the sixth film to feature Perry's grandmotherly Madea character, opened on more screens than any other Perry feature (2,288) and pulled in an estimated $25.7 million. Tyler Perry's films typically have two strong weekends and then decline rapidly in attendance, so this opening could foresee a total gross of approximately $50-$55 million when all is said and done.

Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon's "Water For Elephants" performed better than anticipated, landing in third place with approximately $17.5 million on a budget of $38 million. Curiously, it was Witherspoon's name who came first in the marketing of the film, perhaps because Pattinson's last non-"Twilight" feature, "Remember Me" was a huge box office disappointment. Although Pattinson's performance was the focal point of the film's mixed reviews, the film reportedly played well overall with audiences and should land in the high-$40 to mid $50 million range. Certainly an acceptable return theatrically for 20th Century Fox's anticipations.

DisneyNature's third consecutive Easter film opening, "African Cats", landed a solid $6.4 million estimated opening, placing it behind "Earth" and just ahead of "Oceans" in terms of success with the DisneyNature brand of documentaries. A total gross around $20 million should be expected for the well-received film, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson.

A look at some notable indies and more after the cut!

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.

Box Office Actuals: April 1-3, 2011

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

After cleaning out the cash drawers of North American movie theaters last night, most of the new releases from the April Fool's Day weekend were a bit over-estimated. "Hop" still ruled the weekend but fell just short of having the biggest opening weekend of the year - a success still held by "Rango", which started at $38.1 million as opposed to 'Hop"'s $37.5 million haul.

"Hop" looks to draw strong numbers next weekend with no true competition fighting for its dollar. Additionally, a strong second weekend may keep audiences coming back again and again through the Easter holiday and keep "Hop" near the top of the box office chart for much of this month. Although the film has been poorly received by critics, families and children are responding to it in a big way. "Hop" follows "Despicable Me" as Illumination Entertainment's second big success, perhaps making them a player for the foreseeable future in animated film.

"Source Code", starring Jake Gyllenhaal, opened at $14.8 million, less than the $15.0 projected start. The film, a smart and unique science-fiction/mystery/thriller directed by Duncan Jones (Moon), delivered another soft opening for Summit Entertainment. Many are reporting that the bankability of Jake Gyllenhaal is to blame for "Source Code" falling well short of expectations, but Summit consistently struggles to deliver big numbers. Strong word-of-mouth may keep this rolling through the week, but "Arthur", "Hanna", and "Your Highness" all will compete for much of the same audience that "Source Code" is hoping to retain.

FilmDistrict's first release, the horror film "Insidious", delivered a $13.2 million final tally. Shot for $1.5 million, the film is already an overwhelming success and challenged "Source Code"'s #2 ranking while appearing at approximately 500 less locations. The collaboration from director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell, who created the "Saw" franchise, marks a bit of a comeback for the duo. "Insidious" could arguably be one of the more impressive openings of the year thus far.

Elsewhere, "Sucker Punch" crashed and burned a staggering 68%, while the Weinstein Company's PG-13 recut of "The King's Speech" failed to galvanize audiences.

THE WEEKEND BREAKDOWN

#1 Film - "Hop", earned $37.5 million

Last Year's #1 Film at this time: "Clash Of The Titans", earned $61.2 million

Biggest Per Screen Average: "Hop", $10,490 at 3,579 locations ($37.5 million)

Worst Per Screen Average (50+ Sites): "Rabbit Hole", $199 at 61 locations ($12,132,
$2.2 cumulative)

Largest Increase (50+ Sites): "Win Win", +145.2%

Steepest Decline (50+ Sites): "Mars Needs Moms", -84.6%

Films Earning More Than $1m for the weekend: 15

Films Which Surpassed $100m: Yogi Bear

Films Which Surpassed Reported Budget This Weekend: Insidious.

The Top 40, with other notables, after the cut!

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...