'Rio' soars to $40 million

By Sarah Sluis

For the first time in 2011, the box office was up from 2010 year-over-year. Back in January and even in February, the holdover success of 2009 release Avatar was to blame for the lower 2011 numbers, but then the excuses ran out. However, 2011's lower grosses may also be related to last year's initial crush of 3D films such as Alice in Wonderland, which drew many audiences interested in experiencing the extra dimension.

The CG-animated Rio easily grabbed the first-place perch, earning $40 million. Although the number is lower than other Blue Sky Animation movies, including 2002's Ice Age, the growing receipts from foreign markets make up for any softness in the U.S. In just two weeks, Rio's already earned $128 million abroad. Many U.S. students are on spring break this week, which should make the upcoming weekdays especially profitable.

The chorus of shrieks just wasn't that loud for Scream 4, which finished with $19.2 million, on the low side of expectations. In comparison, Scream 3 earned $34.7 million its opening weekend, the equivalent of more than $50 million today. Viewers over 25, familiar with the franchise, turned out in force, but the sequel had trouble attracting audiences in the 17-25 age range. Females, too, voted against the movie, comprising just 52% of the audience compared to the 60-70% that normally turns out. Scream 4 is part of a planned second trilogy, but these low numbers could grind the franchise to a halt.

With $3.9 million, the historical drama The Conspirator performed in line with expectations. By releasing in just 707 locations, its theatres were just as packed as Scream 4's. With its U.S.-specific subject, however, foreign prospects will be slim, which won't help offset the movie's reported $25 million budget.

Soul Surfer pulled ahead of Hanna during the films' second week. The inspirational sports tale dipped 30% to $7.4 million, while Hanna dove 40% to $7.3 million. Distributor FilmDistrict, which handles Soul Surfer, had another win with Insidious. The horror movie fell just 26% to $6.8 million, continuing its trend of low drops, which is atypical for scary movies.

Literary adaptation Atlas Shrugged: Part I finished in 14^th place with $1.6 million and a per-screen average on par with The Conspirator and Scream 4. Critics generally despised the movie but it remains to be seen if viewers felt the same. The tea party-leaning movie will be one to watch in coming weeks.

Specialty picture The Double Hour, running on goodwill from positive reviews (like this one from The New York Times), opened to a $15,000 per-screen average, a solid debut.

This Friday, Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattison run the circus in Water for Elephants. Tyler Perry strikes again with Madea's Big Happy Family, and the Disneynature wildlife documentary African Cats will stalk family audiences.