While most places tend to focus on just the US box office, I do find that looking at the bigger picture like the studios do to be pretty worthwhile with what it can reveal. Some movies can bomb pretty heavily in the US and then have a rather strong worldwide appeal which in turn can generate sequels, spinoffs and other opportunities that can puzzle people who don’t realize it. This weekend, and this coming season in fact, we’re seeing a few movies starting up internationally before the US with Rio opening this weekend a week ahead of the US and Thor doing the same, but with a two week window internationally before it arrives in theaters. Rio did very, very good numbers on its overseas rollout with an estimated total of $55 million which was through 72 countries and some 11,612 screens, more than half of which were 3D presentations.
In the US, Hop continues to dominate where it took in another $22 million which brings its total to $68 million, which will make it and Rio the two main contenders for the family dollars come Easter when they do tend to go out for a little family fare. Beyond that, the numbers were pretty dismal this weekend with four new openers, only one of which is really very much a smash hit, though it won’t be regarded that way. Arthur fell below expectations and a very large publicity campaign by garnering only $12.6 million. Hanna had a very solid debut with $12.3 million working with a budget of $30 million and a relatively basic campaign that largely relied on word of mouth.
The real winner this weekend though is the inspirational film Soul Surfer which arrived with a $11.1 million total. That may not seem like much, but it’s the kind of movie that could have some definite legs for a bit and its budget was just $10 million. With it playing on traditional screens and two thirds of what Arthur and Hop did, thems good numbers.
The biggest disappointment? No surprise here, the very critically derided Your Highness, which clocked in at just $9.5 million on a budget, pre-advertising, of $50 million. R-rated comedies are a hard sell in general and when you through a fantasy mix to it and then very, very poor reviews and word of mouth, it’s pretty detrimental.
Still, we had fun watching it and it’s a movie that will definitely find its audience over time, but it’s not one that will clean up in the box office.
Things will start to heat up a bit more next week with the competition, as Hop will face the potential juggernaut that is Rio and for the older set they’ll get a chance to show whether they want some springtime scares with Scream 4.
