Via Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, and other sources:Box office estimates are typically overreaching, so it becomes rather noteworthy when a film as big as "Fast Five" comes in underreported. Missing the mark by roughly $3 million, "Fast Five" raised its opening haul to $86.2 million over the 3-day weekend, further shattering the all-time opening record for April releases. This staggering opening places the film as a strong contender to perhaps challenge "Thor" for the top spot next weekend, even with a steep dropoff anticipated.
The remaining new wide openings failed to register a blip with audiences. The public's disinterest in "Prom" ($4.7 million, #5) and "Hoodwinked Too!" ($4.1 million, #6) left "Rio" to settle in for the #2 slot and breeze past the $100 million plateau. "Rio" declined a fair 43.8% in its third weekend, earning another $14.8 million. "Rio" joined "Rango" and "Hop" as the third animated feature to hit the $100 million high mark in 2011.
Steady business during the weeknights allowed "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family" to cushion the nearly 61% slide in its second weekend. Banking nearly $41 million in 10 days is an acceptable success for Perry and Lionsgate and the film should finish in the $50-$55 million range by the time its run is completed.
Holding, with a respectable 44% decline for a period-piece romantic drama, "Water For Elephants" added $9.3 million to its total, coming to rest at $32.5 million thus far. Budgeted at $38 million, the film will be profitable by the weekend.
If response was weak for Disney/Buena Vista's "Prom", the news was even worse for The Weinstein Company's "Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil", which delivered the worst 3-D opening for a wide release ever. The surprise success of 2005's "Hoodwinked" has no chance of being replicated here, as this sequel, which came in at a reportedly light $30 million budget, may only generate a final tally of $12-$15 million when all is said and done.
A "Cave" nets some wonderful discoveries, not every "Dog" has its day, and more analysis after the cut:
Werner Herzog's "Cave of Forgotten Dreams", one of the first 3-D releases since "Avatar" to have critics praising the 3-D imagery, scored an impressive $139k opening at just 6 screens. Averaging a lofty $27,820 per screen average, "Cave" not only was the weekend's most attended film per showing, but became earned some early Oscar buzz, including a mention by Awards Circuit's own Robert Hamer. "Cave" provided Herzog with his second biggest opening, next to "Grizzly Man", his highly acclaimed 2005 documentary.
I temper these comments because I really do want the little guy to succeed, but OMNI Lab/Freestyle Releasing's "Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night" was a larger disappointment than initially estimated. The confounding project starring former Superman Brandon Routh, adapted from an Italian comic book series, shifted for a more comedic approach than the horror elements found in the source material. Italian audiences and fans of the series were angry, the PG-13 rating was a headscratcher, and the film, also not pre-screened for critics, never found an audience. Opening on more theaters (875) than your per screen average ($863) is never good news. "Dylan Dog..." hauled in $755k for a #18 opening.
Other notable openings included the directorial debut of Mark Ruffalo's "Sympathy For Delicious", which had a nice per screen attendance of $4,724 at its 2 New York locations.
Takashi Miike's "13 Assassins" drew an impressive $45,854 at a mere 4 locations. Miike's ultra-violent film had critics and attendees raving and the film has earned Miike the finest reviews of his career.
THE WEEKEND BREAKDOWN
#1 Film - "Fast Five", earned $86.2 million
Last Year's #1 Film at this time: "Nightmare On Elm Street", earned $32.9 million
Biggest Per Screen Average: "Cave Of Forgotten Dreams", $27,820 at 5 locations ($139k cumulative)
Worst Per Screen Average (50+ Sites): "Mars Needs Moms", $428 at 52 locations ($22,227,
$20.9 million cumulative)
Largest Increase (50+ Sites): "The Adjustment Bureau", +86.0%
Steepest Decline (50+ Sites): "Sucker Punch", -79.8%
Films Earning More Than $1m for the weekend: 16
Films Which Surpassed $100m: "Rio"
Films Which Surpassed Reported Budget This Weekend: "Rio"
The Top 40, with other notables!
| TW | LW | DAY | FILM (STUDIO) | WKD | TOTAL | % CHG |
| 1 | N | 3 | Fast Five (Universal) | $86.2m | $86.2m | New |
| 2 | 1 | 17 | Rio (20th Century Fox) | $14.8m | $104.0m | -43.8 |
| 3 | 2 | 10 | Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family (Lionsgate) | $9.9m | $40.9m | -60.7 |
| 4 | 3 | 10 | Water For Elephants (20th Century Fox) | $9.3m | $32.5m | -44.5 |
| 5 | N | 3 | Prom (Buena Vista) | $4.7m | $4.7m | New |
| 6 | N | 3 | Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil (Weinstein Co.) | $4.1m | $4.1m | New |
| 7 | 7 | 24 | Soul Surfer (TriStar/FilmDistrict) | $3.4m | $33.8m | -38.1 |
| 8 | 9 | 31 | Insidious (FilmDistrict) | $2.7m | $48.3m | -48.4 |
| 9 | 4 | 31 | Hop (Universal) | $2.7m | $105.4m | -78.0 |
| 10 | 10 | 31 | Source Code (Summit) | $2.5m | $48.9m | -50.7 |
| 11 | 6 | 10 | African Cats (Buena Vista) | $2.4m | $10.7m | -60.0 |
| 12 | 8 | 24 | Hanna (Focus) | $2.3m | $36.0m | -57.5 |
| 13 | 5 | 17 | Scream 4 (Weinstein Co./Dimension) | $2.2m | $35.5m | -69.0 |
| 14 | 13 | 17 | The Conspirator (Roadside Attractions) | $1.1m | $8.8m | -49.4 |
| 15 | 12 | 45 | Limitless (Relativity) | $1.1m | $76.1m | -58.8 |
| 16 | 11 | 24 | Arthur (Warner Bros.) | $1.0m | $31.7m | -75.2 |
| 17 | 14 | 45 | The Lincoln Lawyer (Lionsgate) | $789k | $55.0m | -55.9 |
| 18 | N | 3 | Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night (Omni Lab/Freestyle) | $755k | $755k | New |
| 19 | 16 | 45 | Win Win (Fox Searchlight) | $666k | $7.6m | -39.9 |
| 20 | 15 | 24 | Your Highness (Universal) | $629k | $21.1m | -63.1 |
| 21 | 19 | 52 | Jane Eyre (Focus) | $512k | $8.7m | -30.6 |
| 22 | 25 | 59 | The Adjustment Bureau (Universal) | $460k | $61.7m | +86.0 |
| 23 | 18 | 17 | Atlas Shrugged Part I (Rocky Mountain) | $403k | $3.9m | -54.3 |
| 24 | 17 | 38 | Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (20th Century Fox) | $383k | $51.0m | -59.0 |
| 25 | 26 | 45 | Paul (Universal) | $299k | $36.9m | +23.3 |
| 26 | 22 | 80 | Gnomeo And Juliet (Buena Vista) | $294k | $98.8m | -12.4 |
| 27 | 20 | 24 | Born To Be Wild IMAX (Warner Bros.) | $290k | $3.7m | -55.8 |
| 28 | 21 | 59 | Rango (Paramount) | $253k | $119.9m | -34.5 |
| 29 | N | 3 | Cave Of Forgotten Dreams (IFC) | $139k | $139k | New |
| 30 | 31 | 73 | I Am Number Four (Buena Vista) | $138k | $54.5m | -25.2 |
| 31 | 30 | 52 | Red Riding Hood (Warner Bros.) | $132k | $37.4m | -29.3 |
| 32 | 36 | 73 | I Am (Paladin) | $129k | $733k | -1.3 |
| 33 | 28 | 80 | Just Go With It (Sony) | $128k | $102.8m | -35.7 |
| 34 | 32 | 38 | Potiche (Music Box) | $119k | $1.0m | -20.7 |
| 35 | 29 | 31 | The King's Speech PG-13 (The Weinstein Co.) | $117k | $3.1m | -40.5 |
| 36 | 34 | 66 | Of Gods And Men (Sony Classics) | $106k | $3.4m | -27.7 |
| 37 | 33 | 409 | Hubble 3D (Warner Bros.) | $94k | $24.4m | -36.2 |
| 38 | 23 | 10 | Dum Maaro Dum (Fox Searchlight) | $92k | $484k | -71.8 |
| 39 | 40 | 59 | Beastly (CBS) | $90k | $27.7m | -0.3 |
| 40 | 37 | 10 | POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (Sony Classics) | $90k | $241k | -24.3 |
BUBBLING UNDER INCREASES AND OPENINGS:
44. “Incendies” (Sony Classics), $65k, $134k total, +27.5%
47. “Double Hour” (Samuel Goldwyn), $57k, $145k total, +91.3%
48. “13 Assassins” (Magnolia), $46k, NEW
50. “Kill The Irishman” (Anchor Bay), $41k, $1.1m total, +9.9%
