'Clash of the Titans' has a record-breaking Easter weekend at the box office

[Brian Damage]

It was a record Easter weekend at the box office thanks to robust performances by Clash of the Titans, Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too, and the animated How to Train Your Dragon, which held on well its second weekend in theaters. All told, the three films combined helped lead the box office higher than last year’s frame, when Fast and Furious opened to $70.9 million. (Last year at this time was not Easter weekend.)

Clash of the Titans earned $61.4 million for the three-days, putting its total cume, including Thursday’s midnight showings, at an estimated $64 million (per-screen average of $16,256). That represents an Easter weekend record, topping Scary Movie 4′s $40.2 million in 2006. Unfortunately for Clash, which was co-produced and co-financed by Legendary Pictures, the movie earned a weak B score from Cinemascore, which will likely translate into a steep drop-off next weekend. In contrast, Why Did I Get Married Too generated an A from Cinemascore, which means Perry’s 8th movie could build off of this weekend’s solid $30 million (per-screen average of $13,991). The film marks the second-best opening for a Perry movie, behind last year’s Madea Goes to Jail, which bowed to $41 million.

How to Train Your Dragon dropped only 33 percent its second weekend in theaters with a weekend take of $29.2 million. The animated Dreamworks flick has now generated $92 million after 10 days of release. It’s 3-D presence was still a factor as IMAX screenings, which accounted for 12.5 percent of the film’s total weekend gross. Miley Cyrus’s Last Song generated $16.2 million for the weekend, which coupled with its Wednesday opening grossed $25.5 million in its first five days of release. And Alice in Wonderland generated another $8.2 million in its fifth weekend in release. With 3-D screens dominated by Clash and Dragon, Alice experienced its steepest drop since it opened. However, the film has now earned $309 million and has grossed over $700 million worldwide.

Hot Tub Time Machine landed in sixth its second weekend in theaters. The R-rated ’80s comedy grossed an estimated $8 million, falling a decent 43 percent to put its cume at $27.8 million. The Bounty Hunter grossed $6.2 million for seventh place and a new overall gross of $48.9 million. Diary of a Wimpy Kid landed in 8th place, earning $5.5 million to put its three-weekend take at $46.2 million. Ninth spot went to She’s Out of My League, which grossed another $1.4 million and a four weekend gross of $28.6 million. Shutter Island took another $1.4 million to put its seven-weekend gross at $123 million. Box office for the weekend was up 18 percent over the same frame last year.

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/...l-bows-strong/