For the first time in two weeks, the weekend box office results won't come down to the final figures on Monday. Take that, bean counters! Unfortunately for Jennifer Lopez and The Losers that means no shady numbers massaging -- cough, Lionsgate -- will allow them to sneak away with the top spot. Grab your best five-week old pop culture reference, hop on a dragon and get ready for some weekend receipts.
1. How to Train Your Dragon
Gross: $15,025,000 ($178,021,000)
Screens: 3,665 (PSA: $4,100)
Weeks: 5 (change: -23.5%)
Okay, now How to Train Your Dragon has become the first film since Chronicles of Narnia to lead the box office on non-consecutive weekends. Dragon is now running ahead of Monsters vs. Aliens, which had $174 million through five weekends last year, and should coast past $200 million. Between this and Shrek Forever After, Dreamworks Animation should plan on having a pretty good summer.
2. The Back-Up Plan
Gross: $12,250,000 (new)
Screens: 3,280 (PSA: $3,735)
Weeks: 1
To give Jennifer Lopez some credit, the $12.25 million opening for The Back-Up Plan is technically right in her wheelhouse. With the exception of Monster in Law -- the outlier, which started with a $23 million weekend -- all of her romantic comedies in the last decade have opened around this mark. She might not be a movie star, but at least she's a consistent value.
3. Date Night
Gross: $10,600,000 ($63,474,000)
Screens: 3,294 (PSA: $3,218)
Weeks: 3 (change: -36.6%)
All the talk about how bad Date Night was, missed one important element: Audiences like it! And with no romantic comedies hitting theaters for quite some time (Sex and the City 2 doesn't open until the end of May), you have to wonder if Date Night can push $100 million.
4. The Losers
Gross: $9,605,000 (new)
Screens: 2,936 (PSA: $3,271)
Weeks: 1
More like The Biggest Losers. SFX: Rimshot.
5. Kick-Ass
Gross: $9,500,000 ($34,870,000)
Screens: 3,065 (PSA: $3,100)
Weeks: 2 (change: -52.1%)
No truth to the rumor that Lionsgate will petition to have "weekend" encapsulate the period between Monday and Sunday in an attempt to up the Kick-Ass gross.