Box Office Actuals: April 15-17, 2011

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:

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...

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.

Behold the Trailer for the Sundance hit Win Win!

Tom McCarthy's latest:

-Joey's Two Cents: It's supposed to be excellent, but it could be too early a release to gain any traction this year with the Academy. We certainly shall see. Thoughts?