It was the revenge of the middle school nerds as Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules earned an estimated $24.4 million, more than enough to top Zack Snyder’s genre-blending, girls with guns, special effects-happy Sucker Punch, which brought in an estimated $19 million.
Overall the box office was down 5% from the same weekend in 2010, which actually represents a reduction from the double digit deficits that have been common so far in 2010, though the improvement was due in large part to strong showings from holdover titles. Last week’s leader Limitless slipped just 20%, while The Lincoln Lawyer fell just 17%, and Rango fell just 35% in its fourth weekend.
Overall the box office was down 5% from the same weekend in 2010, which actually represents a reduction from the double digit deficits that have been common so far in 2010, though the improvement was due in large part to strong showings from holdover titles. Last week’s leader Limitless slipped just 20%, while The Lincoln Lawyer fell just 17%, and Rango fell just 35% in its fourth weekend.
| Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): March 25 - 27, 2011 | ||||||
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| Film | Weekend Gross | Screens | Avg./ Screen | Total Gross | Wk# |
| 1 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules | $24,400,000 | 3,167 | $7,704 | $24,400,000 | 1 |
| 2 | Sucker Punch | $19,015,000 | 3,033 | $6,269 | $19,015,000 | 1 |
| 3 | Limitless | $15,225,000 | 2,805 | $5,428 | $41,281,000 | 2 |
| 4 | The Lincoln Lawyer | $11,000,000 | 2,707 | $4,064 | $28,967,000 | 2 |
| 5 | Rango | $9,800,000 | 3,645 | $2,689 | $106,363,000 | 4 |
| 6 | Battle: Los Angeles | $7,600,000 | 3,118 | $2,437 | $72,580,000 | 3 |
| 7 | Paul | $7,506,000 | 2,806 | $2,675 | $24,610,000 | 2 |
| 8 | Red Riding Hood | $4,340,000 | 2,715 | $1,599 | $32,453,000 | 3 |
| 9 | The Adjustment Bureau | $4,245,000 | 2,282 | $1,860 | $54,871,000 | 4 |
| 10 | Mars Needs Moms | $2,186,000 | 2,170 | $1,007 | $19,152,000 | 3 |
The Wimpy Kid sequel outperformed its predecessor, which opened with $22.1 million last year and went on to earn $64 million in North America. Roderick Rules, which cost just $20 million, earned a solid “A-“ CinemaScore from an opening weekend audience that was 51% male and 59% under 25. With lots more of Jeff Kinney’s quasi graphic novels to adapt, this low cost franchise appears to be on solid ground.
Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch, which reportedly cost at least $75 million to produce, is the latest in a string of stylized films like I Am Number Four, Scott Pilgrim, and Red Riding Hood that targeted a young demographic and underperformed at the box office. Sucker Punch mobilized its fanboy audience on Friday and led the box office chase after one day, but business fell off 17% on Saturday. Even more troubling was the “B-“ CinemaScore from a crowd that was 64% male and 74% under 35. Sucker Punch also posted Snyder’s lowest live-action opening weekend total. Fortunately for Snyder, who is currently developing the new Superman movie, overseas box office and home video at least offer some hope the Sucker Punch might at least come close to breaking even.
Rango, which features the vocal talents of Johnny Depp, is the top-grossing film of 2011 so far, though its $106.4 million total is nothing to write home about. Rango’s $38 million opening is also the biggest so far this year. But this has been a year that has been devoid of mega hits. In the first quarter of 2011, only 4 films have opened with more than $30 million versus eight in 2010.
Sony’s science fiction action film Battle: Los Angeles fell 48% in its third weekend. It now appears unlikely that Battle: LA, which has earned $72 million, will break the $100 million mark. Universal’s fanboy-friendly Paul, which faced strong competition for its target demo from Sucker Punch, fell 42% in its second weekend. The raunchy Nick Frost/Simon Pegg comedy looks like it will finish under $50 million domestically, though it has better prospects overseas.
