Were any of the new entries at this weekend's box office breathing fire, or will they have to teleport back to the 80's to avoid embarrassment? The boombox is thumping with the news of some weekend receipts.
1. How to Train Your Dragon
Gross: $43,300,000 (new)
Screens: 4,055 (PSA: $10,678)
Weeks: 1
It's entirely possible that the well-liked How to Train Your Dragon will hold up well in the coming weeks, but then again, Clash of the Titans is about to go Kraken on all the films in the marketplace hoping to retain their 3D screens. There's no question that DW/Paramount was hoping for a better foothold to begin with. Instead, even with higher ticket prices, it was well behind last year's Monsters vs. Aliens.
2. Alice in Wonderland
Gross: $17,300,000 (cume: $293,100,000)
Screens: 3,384 (PSA: $5,112)
Weeks: 4 (change: -49.4%)
I would laud Alice's impressive hold in the face of another 3D family film, but I don't want to provoke an embarrassing third-act dance of joy from Johnny Depp. So I'll just keep my comments to myself for now, thank you very much.
3. Hot Tub Time Machine
Gross: $13,650,000 (new)
Screens: 2,754 (PSA: $4,956)
Weeks: 1
Hot Tub Time Machine is kind of a what-you-see, what-you-get situation: Everything about the movie is implicit in that title, and everything about its gross is in line with those expectations too. If you were looking for more, look on 'shrooms.
4. The Bounty Hunter
Gross: $12,400,000 (cume: $38,812,000)
Screens: 3,074 (PSA: $4,034)
Weeks: 2 (change: -40.1%)
After a humiliating opening weekend where Bounty Hunter got sand kicked in its face by Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the Jennifer Aniston vehicle lurched ahead in its second week. Wimpy Kid, watch out for Aniston's wet willies.
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Gross: $10,000,000 (cume: $35,776,000)
Screens: 3,083 (PSA: $3,244)
Weeks: 2 (change: -54.8%)
Dear Diary: Maybe it wasn't a great idea to open smack in the middle of Alice in Wonderland and How to Train Your Dragon. Next time, early February might be better? I mean, last week's gross was pretty good and all, but now I feel like I've gotten lost in the mall and Mom won't realize it until she climbs in the Taurus. Security?