Damn, remember when Year One was considered a big flop? That had a $20 million opening weekend. Your Highness just opened in sixth place at $9.5 million (on a $50 million budget). And it had two Oscar nominees and Natalie Portman’s bare ass in the trailer. (Maybe she should’ve shat jelly beans?) Go figure. On the plus side, I liked it, so my streak of being completely out of touch with the rest of society remains unbroken. I may go torture a hooker just to see if I’m still capable of empathy. Nope, didn’t work. Anyone have a moist towelette?
But it was pretty grim all around, as is to be expected when a jelly-bean sh-tting CGI bunny is the number one movie of the weekend two weeks running (and just behind Rango for the biggest opening of 2011). This weekend last year had three movies earning more than $20 million (two more than $25). This year, Hop earned $21.7 million for the top spot, leaving Arthur‘s $12.6 million a distant second. It just goes to show you, Americans love Russell Brand, but they hate Russell Brand. Rounding out the top five were Hanna ($12.3), Soul Surfer ($11.1), and Insidious ($9.7), which has now earned $27 million on a $1.5 million budget. It has to be seen as a victory for… uh… whatever the hell Insidious is about. Oh, it’s about a creepy little kid? How original.
Elsewhere, Cedar Rapids, in its ninth week of release, played on just 118 screens (in contrast to every movie in the top ten, which all played on more than 2,000), 92 less than last week. Because God forbid a sweet comedy with universal appeal be allowed to play a flyover multiplex. Not when we’ve got unnecessary remakes and 3D bunny poop to foist! Quick, add a fat suit! Vajazzle these aliens! MORE RECORD SCRATCH!
(*using dead coyote as ventriloquist’s dummy*) “Chaos reigns.”
| Film | Weekend | Per | Total | |
| 1 | Hop | $21,696,000 (-42.2%) | $6,000 | $68,152,000 |
| 2 | Arthur | $12,605,000 | $3,848 | $12,605,000 |
| 3 | Hanna | $12,323,000 | $4,861 | $12,323,000 |
| 4 | Soul Surfer | $11,100,000 | $5,014 | $11,100,000 |
| 5 | Insidious | $9,740,000 (-26.6%) | $4,026 | $27,097,000 |
| 6 | Your Highness | $9,520,000 | $3,438 | $9,520,000 |
| 7 | Source Code | $9,050,000 (-38.9%) | $3,046 | $28,619,000 |
| 8 | Limitless | $5,692,000 (-38.8%) | $2,144 | $64,380,000 |
| 9 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules | $4,885,000 (-51.3%) | $1,696 | $45,462,000 |
| 10 | The Lincoln Lawyer | $4,600,000 (-32.6%) | $1,901 | $46,455,000 |
[via CHUD, BoxOfficeMojo]