Take Home Pay

The animated pic Rango wins 1st place at the cineplex The Adjustment Bureau takes 2nd  Beastly does better than anyone thought it would Take Me Home Tonight fails to crack the top 10...

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Boosted by a great Saturday, Paramount's quirky toon Rango opened to an estimated $38 million from 3,917 theaters to score the top opening of the year for a non-holiday weekend.

Nor did the critically acclaimed film, voiced by Johnny Depp and directed by Gore Verbinski, have the advantage of being in 3D.

Overseas, Rango grossed north of $16 million as it opened out in numerous markets for a worldwide total of $54 million. With its old west theme, Rango played incredibly well in Hispanic markets like Mexico and Argentina, as well as in the Southwest and Western United States.

Costing $135 million to produce, Rango easily posted the best debut of an otherwise lackluster year. In mid-January, Sony's The Green Hornet grossed $40.1 million over the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Universal's sci-fi romance thriller The Adjustment Bureau came in No. 2, opening to a solid $20.9 million at the domestic box office, according to Rentrak. Adults fueled the film, with 73% of the audience over the age of 30.

Overseas, Adjustment took in $10.5 million as it opened in 21 markets for a worldwide debut of $31.4 million.

CBS Films' Beastly, a retelling of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, did better than expected in its debut, grossing an estimated $10.1 million from 1,952 locations on the strength of younger teens and girls. More than 73% of the audience were females, while 36% were between the ages of 12 and 17.

The weekend's fourth new film, Relativity's comedy Take Me Home Tonight, failed to find its groove, opening to an estimated $3.5 million from 2,003 theaters and placing No. 11 for the frame....

John Young of EW:

'Rango' is No. 1 with $38 mil

Next Up: Catherine Hardwicke puts what looks like a very Twilight-esque spin on the Red Riding Hood fairy tale; Jonathan Liebesman wages Battle: Los Angeles against some hostile aliens; While another invassoin targets our most valued resource in the CG animated Mars Needs Moms--featuring the vocal talents of Seth Green, Dan Fogler, Elisabeth Harnois, Mindy Sterling, Kevin Cahoon and Joan Cusack.

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