The box office results for the weekend of March 25th- 27th has the lure of childhood innocence winning out over feminine violence. With “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” over-achieving, Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” could not muster up much of a fight. Here are the final numbers (click on title for review):
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules ($23.75 million)
2. Sucker Punch ($19.05 million)
3. Limitless ($15.05 million)
4. The Lincoln Lawyer ($10.75 million)
5. Rango ($9.77 million)
6. Paul ($7.85 million)
7. Battle: Los Angeles ($7.58 million)
8. Red Riding Hood ($4.31 million)
9. The Adjustment Bureau ($4.29 million)
10. Mars Needs Moms ($2.25 million)
Analysis
The current top ten resembles a college student’s DVD collection. You know, the days when they would hitch a ride to Wal-Mart and buy out of the bargain bin.
Getting back on track, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules” turned out to be a nice little surprise for 20th Century Fox. The sequel to last year’s kid flick managed to open slightly better than its predecessor. Coming in with a production budget of just $21 million, this will be winner for the studio, that has been in a mild slump with regards to their fam-friendly products.
“Sucker Punch” did alright considering the content it projected. However, the $82 million budget is going to hit Warner Bros. right in the gut in the next week or two. This critically panned title will lose steam quickly.
“Limitless” and “The Lincoln Lawyer’s” performance in their second weeks are definitely pleasing their respective investors. Both flicks dropped just 20%, and by avoiding the dreaded second week decline, they have a legit shot at seeing profits within the next couple weeks.
Flop Alert: Financially speaking (obviously), the top ten seems to be in decent shape at the moment. Next week should enable yours truly to mention someone in this category. Now entertainment-wise, there’s plenty that warrant a mention here.
Sleeper Hit: “Battle: Los Angeles.” It’s still hanging around and the overseas grosses have propelled this flick well over the $100 million mark ($124 to be exact). The $70 million production budget doesn’t seem all that threatening now.
This Friday brings another hearty helping of new releases. “Hop” brings the comedy (or at least it will try). “Insidious” champions the horror genre. And “Source Code” plays with the latest Hollywood gimmick…Mind-bending shenanigans. Reviews for those and “The Troll Hunter” will be right here my fellow Shockers.
Report by Joe Belcastro
