Brian Damage
03-28-2010, 02:22 PM
3D's rising star got another boost at the North American boxoffice this weekend as Paramount's release of DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon" flew to the top spot, and Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" held on to enough screens to emerge a solid number two.
Co-existing on the available 3D screens, "Dragon" bowed to an estimated $43.3 million, while "Alice," in its fourth weekend, lost 50% of its audience as it took in another $17.3 million.
MGM's "Hot Tub Time Machine," which relied on R-rated comedy instead of flashy effects, debuted more modestly as it collected $13.7 million.
Close behind was the second weekend of Sony's battling rom-com "The Bounty Hunter." The Jennifer Aniston-Gerard Butler teaming fell by just 40% as it brought in $12.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $38.8 million.
In fifth place, Fox's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," also in its second weekend, declining by 55%, brought home $10 million as its cume rose to $35.8 million.
The "Dragon" launch provided further evidence of the appeal of 3D. The movie bowed in 4,055 locations, but ticket sales from its 2,178 3D theaters, a number that raised prices this weekend, accounted for 68% of the movie's weekend gross. Imax alone -- "Dragon" is playing in 185 Imax theaters -- contributed 11.5% of the gross, up from the 10.5% of gross that Imax theaters contributed to "Alice's" opening weekend. "That shows we're accumulating more fans as we go along with who chose Imax as a venue," said Greg Foster, president of filmed entertainment at Imax, which will be hosting "Dragon" for six weeks until "Iron Man 2" comes along.
"Dragon" didn't explode out of the gate like DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens," which bowed to $59.3 million last March. But with a Cinemascore of A, and 97% positive reviews on the RottenTomatoes Web site, it should play well over the spring holidays.
Its opening weekend audience bridged the age gap: 49% of moviegoers were under 25, and 51% older. And it skewed slightly more female by 55%.
On the specialty front, Focus' "Greenberg," Noah Baumbach's L.A.-set relationship study starring Ben Stiller, expanded into 181 theaters, where it grossed $1.1 million for a per-theater average of $5,850.
Sony Picture Classics' first weekend of Atom Egoyan's R-rated marital thriller "Chloe," starring Liam Neeson with Amanda Seyfried in the title role, collected $1 million on 350 screens for a per-theater average of $2,863.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i82424a74b1dd9119bfb041a9c59a8297
Co-existing on the available 3D screens, "Dragon" bowed to an estimated $43.3 million, while "Alice," in its fourth weekend, lost 50% of its audience as it took in another $17.3 million.
MGM's "Hot Tub Time Machine," which relied on R-rated comedy instead of flashy effects, debuted more modestly as it collected $13.7 million.
Close behind was the second weekend of Sony's battling rom-com "The Bounty Hunter." The Jennifer Aniston-Gerard Butler teaming fell by just 40% as it brought in $12.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $38.8 million.
In fifth place, Fox's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," also in its second weekend, declining by 55%, brought home $10 million as its cume rose to $35.8 million.
The "Dragon" launch provided further evidence of the appeal of 3D. The movie bowed in 4,055 locations, but ticket sales from its 2,178 3D theaters, a number that raised prices this weekend, accounted for 68% of the movie's weekend gross. Imax alone -- "Dragon" is playing in 185 Imax theaters -- contributed 11.5% of the gross, up from the 10.5% of gross that Imax theaters contributed to "Alice's" opening weekend. "That shows we're accumulating more fans as we go along with who chose Imax as a venue," said Greg Foster, president of filmed entertainment at Imax, which will be hosting "Dragon" for six weeks until "Iron Man 2" comes along.
"Dragon" didn't explode out of the gate like DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens," which bowed to $59.3 million last March. But with a Cinemascore of A, and 97% positive reviews on the RottenTomatoes Web site, it should play well over the spring holidays.
Its opening weekend audience bridged the age gap: 49% of moviegoers were under 25, and 51% older. And it skewed slightly more female by 55%.
On the specialty front, Focus' "Greenberg," Noah Baumbach's L.A.-set relationship study starring Ben Stiller, expanded into 181 theaters, where it grossed $1.1 million for a per-theater average of $5,850.
Sony Picture Classics' first weekend of Atom Egoyan's R-rated marital thriller "Chloe," starring Liam Neeson with Amanda Seyfried in the title role, collected $1 million on 350 screens for a per-theater average of $2,863.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i82424a74b1dd9119bfb041a9c59a8297