CinemaNerdz

Weekend Box-Office: Rio Still High atop Its Perch; Madea Big & Happy at #2

Seth Paul

Apparently it pays to not only be 3D and kid-friendly, but have three letters in your title. Just as Hop did not too long ago, Rio holds the top spot for a second week in a row. Its take isn’t as big as last week’s (only a “paltry” $26.8 million), but it was enough to keep it solidly in its top spot, above newcomers Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family ($25.8 million) and Water for Elephants ($17.5 million). Madea brings back Tyler Perry’s no-nonsense matriarch in another tale of family drama and Christian values, while Water for Elephants stars Robert Pattinson as a veterinarian who finds himself falling for the wife (Reese Witherspoon) of a traveling circus owner with a decidedly mean streak (Christoph Waltz). Critics overall have been much kinder to Elephants than Madea, though not particularly thrilled with either newcomer.

Hop landed in fourth spot with $12.4 million, amazingly the only film to earn more money this week than last. Scream 4 didn’t fare so well, making only $7.2 million, a whopping 60% drop in revenue from last week and the worst drop of any film in the top ten. A third newcomer came in sixth, African Cats, a Disney documentary aimed at a younger audience. For a documentary, it fared well in its debut ($6.4 million), but its budgetary costs remain under wraps for the time being.

The final four all experienced minor drops in revenue, but all four have proven to be profitable in the domestic market. Soul Surfer made $5.6 million, giving the Christian-themed inspirational film a $10 million profit, the ghostly shocker Insidious made $5.4 million (a runaway success with an astounding $42.5 million profit so far), the action thriller Hanna barely coming over the line with $5.3 million (with a $1 million profit), and the sci-fi thriller Source Code a $12 million profit with $5.1 million this past weekend.

Weekend Box-Office (April 22 – April 24)

  1. Rio…$26.8 million
  2. Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family…$25.8 million
  3. Water for Elephants…$17.5 million
  4. Hop…$12.4 million
  5. Scream 4…$7.2 million
  6. African Cats…$6.4 million
  7. Soul Surfer…$5.6 million
  8. Insidious…$5.4 million
  9. Hanna…$5.3 million
  10. Source Code…$5.1 million

Seth Paul

When not failing to write novels and screenplays, box-office guru Seth writes humorous comedy tracks for films under the name "The One Man Band" that can be found at Rifftrax.com. Although, he has recently succeeded in writing the novella "Jack Alan and the Case of the Not-Exactly Rocket Scientists," available as an eBook on Amazon. He is also the English voice of Zak in "Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space."
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