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 Actuals: March 25-27, 2011

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

With actual receipts tabulated, it appears that the sequel "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" did take the weekend with a slightly underestimated $23.8 million haul. Besting the first film's $22.1 opening weekend, "...Rodrick Rules" has already turned a profit for 20th Century Fox. Undoubtedly the studio will be optioning another edition of Jeff Kinney's popular series, as this appears to be an appealing and growing film franchise.

"Sucker Punch" saw a minuscule uptick in actuals to $19.1 million for its opening frame. At best, the film looks to finish in the mid-$50 million range when all is said and done. Although comparisons can be made to 2010's "Kick-Ass", which opened with slightly more money but ended up short of $50 million, "Sucker Punch" appears to be all hype and no payoff for Warner Bros., who aggressively marketed the film as THE first must-see movie of the Spring. This is a major disappointment for Warner Bros. and director Zack Snyder, who seemingly could not withstand the vitriolic critical response and increasingly bad word-of-mouth which grew and grew through the weekend.

THE WEEKEND BREAKDOWN

#1 Film - "Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules:, earned $23.8 million

Last Year's #1 Film at this time: "How To Train Your Dragon", earned $43.7 million

Biggest Per Screen Average: "Win Win", $20,192 at 23 locations ($464,420)

Worst Per Screen Average (50+ Sites): "Drive Angry", $383 at 72 locations $27,549,
$10.6 cumulative)

Largest Increase (50+ Sites): "From Prada To Nada", +412.3%

Steepest Decline (50+ Sites): "Take Me Home Tonight", -68.4%

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

Films Which Surpassed $100m: Rango, Just Go With It

Films Which Surpassed Reported Budget This Weekend: Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick
Rules, Limitless, Battle: Los Angeles, The Adjustment Bureau.


The Top 40, with other notables, after the cut!
Bold signifies new openings or gains in audience from previous week:

Box Office Bulletin: "Limitless" Takes The Weekend!

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

"Limitless" surprised many experts by taking a comfortable win at the weekend box office, outlasting the persistent "Rango", and leading a slate of tepid and underwhelming offerings.




NEW OPENINGS:

"Limitless", a suspense/thriller for Relativity Media and Rogue Pictures, featuring Bradley Cooper as a depressed writer who finds a wonder drug that changes his life's fortunes, earned an estimated $19.0 million from 2,756 sites. Neil Burger's first wide release since 2006's "The Illusionist", "Limitless" was modestly budgeted at $27 million and should turn profitable within the week. While one can point to "The Hangover" and "The A-Team" as being Cooper-featured films, "Limitless" is arguably the first film Cooper has "opened" with his name above-the-title.