Pamela McClintock of THR
Universal's Easter-themed pic Hop far exceeded expectations in debuting to an estimated $38.1 million at the domestic box office, one of the best showings of 2011. But overseas, the CGI/live-action hybrid grossed a soft $7 million from 26 countries, hurt partly by good weather in Europe.
Hop, from Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment, is off to a strong start financially, having cost $63 million to produce. Relativity Media co-financed the family film, starring James Marsden and voiced by Russell Brand.
Hop, playing in 3,579 theaters, earned a stellar A- CinemaScore. If estimates hold, Hop will all but tie with Paramount’s Rango for the best non-holiday opening of 2011. Final weekend numbers will be released Monday morning. It's also noteworthy that Hop isn't a 3D pic.
FilmDistrict’s classic horror pic Insidious also scored a sizeable victory in opening to an estimating $13.5 million from 2,408 theaters, considering the film -- from Paranormal Activity producers Jason Blum and Oren Peli -- cost less than $1.5 million to produce. Most box office observers thought the movie, made in the vein of Poltergeist, would only clear $10 million.
Insidious, starring Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, is the first title distributed by Peter Schlessel and Bob Berney’s FilmDistrict, which acquired domestic rights to the film. Canadian distributor Alliance financed the film per its deal with Blum and Peli's Haunted Movies banner, while Stuart Ford’s IM Global handed foreign presales.
Insidious came in No. 3 behind Hop and the weekend’s other new film, Summit Entertainment’s Source Code, respectively.
Source Code opened in line with expectations, grossing an estimated $15 million from 2,961 locations. That’s a good number, since Source Code cost Vendome Pictures $32 million to produce after rebates.
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan, Source Code played heavily to adults, with 64% of the audience over the age of 30.
Conversely, Insidious appealed primarily to moviegoers under the age of 25. Both films received a B CinemaScore.
The other headline of the weekend was the PG-13 version of Oscar winner The King’s Speech, which went out in 1,007 theaters. The King’s Speech: Rated PG-13 grossed an estimated $1.2 million, down 23% from the previous weekend, when the R-rated version grossed $1.5 million. The Weinstein Co. said while it hoped the film would stay at the same level, there was evidence that the tamer version brought in business in heartland cities such as Salt Lake City and Toledo, Oh.
Releasing a PG-13 version of the movie, and pulling the R-rating version from theaters, was a bold move by the Weinstein Co. The R-rated version comes out on DVD on April 19, but the Weinstein Co. will try to keep the PG-13 version in theaters where it is working...
John Young of EW
Little-known fact: The Easter Bunny is an avid box-office watcher...
Next Up--There's gonna be lots of fresh faces for you to meet at the cineplex: Child assassin Hanna; The inspiring Soul Surfer Bethany Hamilton; The regal Your Highness; And Billionaire Playboy Arthur in the remake of a classic.
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