Box-Office Report - Week of 22 April 2011

The Easter week-end seems to have been a busy one at the movies. Although the three new movies that opened last week managed to rake in a not so impressive $48M together, the total week-end box-office rose to a nice total of $118M. Not bad at all. Let's see how it all went down :

• Holding steady at #1 for a second week-end is "Rio", although it has lost some serious money these past three days, falling to just $25M, compared to the same time-frame two weeks ago, when it opened with a satisfying $40M. Its 10 day total now stands at $81M. Made on a $90M budget, it's doing quite well so far and will probably manage to keep doing well. It will have no problem vaulting over the $100M mark next week, and then advancing past $140M to a $150-160M finish, if it manages to keep itself among the top 5 for the next few weeks.

• New at #2 is Tyler Perry's "Madea's Big Happy Family". Despite not so friendly reviews and the hate-machine on IMDb.com (where it currently holds a score of 2.8 stars), it has managed to take in $25M over its first three days, thus recuperating its $25M budget. Talk about Easter miracles. Perry's no stranger to box-office success. His last three movies earned combined grosses of $147M dollars, on similarly smallish budgets.

• At #3 we find another new release, "Water for Elephants". The best-seller adaptation starring Reese witherspoon, Robert Pattinson and Christoph Waltz, opened with a unspectacular $17M this week-end. COnsidering the production cost $40M, it's not really good news for Fox and director Francis Lawrence. It doesn't seem likely to do any better in the following weeks.

• Pulling off another Easter miracle is "Hop" at #4. Winning back $1M this last week-end ($12M), compared to last week-end's $11M, it now stands at $100M, grossed in 25 days. The Easter themes and kids appeal made "Hop" survive the onslaught of new releases. With its new found legs, it looks like it could easily reach as far as $150M, even if it will take a little longer to get there in the next weeks. Its $63M budget is almost doubled in domestic profit.

• Falling 3 spots from #2 to #5 is "Scream 4". Dropping an alarming $12M from its opening week-end $19M to $7M in the last three days, the Wes Craven directed sequel, while not a complete flop, has lost its appeal to the audience. It has now grossed a total of $31M. Its $40M budget will probably get cleared next week, and it looks to be headed to a $55-60M finish, making it the laziest entry in the four-movie franchise.

• A surprise entry in the top 10, at #6, is the Disney produced documentary "African Cats", narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, grossing $6.4M in its opening week-end. It probably won't do a lot of business in the top 10, but it's an impressive feat nonetheless.

• At #7 is the true-story drama "Soul Surfer", now in its 17th day in theaters. Dropping $2M from last week-end's $7M, it now holds a total sum of $28M, on a $18M budget. My initial estimate of $35M was too pesimistic it seems. If it keeps this up, it could go as far as $40-45M before exiting the top 10.

• The James Wan directed horror "Insidious" fell back just one spot this past week, from #7 to #8. Earning $5M over these past three days, compared to $6.8M the previous week-end, it now reached the hefty sum of $44M in its 24-day run so far. It has slowed down its losses and seems to finish well past the $50M marker, although, not necessarily in the top 10 as next week's new releases will probably push this one out, or at the very least to a #10 position.

• #9 is occupied by "Hanna", in a steep 4 spots decline. Earning $5M this week-end, it now holds a $31M total, which means it has at least recuperated its $30M budget. It will now finish its top 10 run with somewhere around $35-40M. Not spectacular, but decent enough given its lackluster marketing and lack of popular impact.

• The #10 spot finds "Source Code" taking its last breath in the top 10. Earning $5M this past week-end, which means it only dropped $1M from the week before, it now holds a total sum of $44.7M on a $32M budget. It wil certainly exit the top 10 next week, but will have no trouble going past $50M, probably finishing somewhere around $55M.

The movies that exited the Top 10 are : "Arthur", "Your Highness", and "Limitless" (finally).

Here is the Top 10 for the week of 22 April 2011 :

1. Rio
Weekend : $26M
Total : $81.3M

2. Madea's Big Happy Family
Weekend : $25.8M
Total : $25.8M

3. Water for Elephants
Weekend : $17.5M  
Total : $17.5M

4. Hop
Weekend : $12.5M   
Total : $100M

5. Scream 4
Weekend : $7.15M  
Total : $31.2M

6. African Cats
Weekend : $6.4M  
Total : $6.4M

7. Soul Surfer
Weekend : $5.6M    
Total : $28.7M

8. Insidious
Weekend : $5.3M    
Total : $44.2M

9. Hanna
Weekend : $5M
Total : $31.7M

10. Source Code
Weekend : $5M  
Total : $44.7M

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