To no one’s surprise, “Hannah Montana: The Movie” took the box office by storm. Top heavy as all get-out, the film fell quite a bit from a $17 million opening day, but still scored $34 million to hit #1. It tops the $31 million the “Best of Both Worlds” concert film scored even though it was a fairly modest, non-IMAX affair. Does this mean Miley Cyrus is something of a box office draw? With the two “Hannah Montana” hits and “Bolt” on her resume, one could argue that she’s become less of a teen niche star and more of a genuine headliner. She’d be wise to line up another gig, or perhaps push for a “Montana” sequel, as shes only got a Nicolas Sparks adaptation set for 2010. Suck on that, Jonas Brothers.
“Fast And Furious” took the requisite near-60% drop to fall to #2. With $28.8 million in its coffers this weekend, and $118 millon overall, it should surpass the second film in the series by midweek, with the first and most successful installment in its crosshairs. All principals are reportedly signed for a fifth adventure, so Universal is just riding the pre-summer gravy train, while Vin Diesel is preparing his “Riddick 3” powerpoint presentations. At #3, “Monsters Vs. Aliens” survived a more modest drop than last weekend’s, tallying $22.6 million with a theater expansion, bringing its total up to $141 million. Spring break daytime grosses could goose the numbers to $200 million by the end of its run, stellar for an offseason animated release, but there’s still quite a bit of ground to make up to hit that mark.
Debuting at a meek #4 was the dark Seth Rogen comedy “Observe And Report.” With $11.1 million in the bank, it doesn’t look all that strong until you consider the budget was reportedly under $20 mil., most of which probably from the salary of megastar Aziz Ansari. With the rough, unusual subject matter, and coming off the heels of a far more mainstream mall cop film, the $30 million this finishes up with has to be considered if not a win then at least a modest hold- but really, WB, was Easter weekend the only time you could release this? Also debuting was “Dragonball Evolution,” which brought in $4.7 million over the weekend. With this, “Street Fighter” and “12 Rounds,” FOX is doing a real great job at aiming for the lowest common denominator and missing this year.
“Knowing” and “I Love You Man” remain surprising performers, both posting losses of less than 20% this weekend. While “Man” has been threatening to pass “Knowing,” the former finishes at #5 with $6.7 million while the latter clocked in right behind with $6.4 million. “Knowing” reportedly cost $60 million, and as of this weekend, they are at $68 million and counting, while the likely-cheap “Man” is at a shade under $60 and could finish out even over $70. Big wins all around. Outside of the top ten, the indie drama “Lymelife” debuted on four theaters with a meager $7k per theater number, which will probably be blamed on the unmarketability of festival hits instead of the lack of actual marketing on the studios’ part.
1. Mannah Hontanna- $34 million
2. 2 Fast 4 Furious- $28.8 million
3. Monsters Vs. Aliens- $22.6 million
4. Seth Rogen Plays Danny McBride- $11.1 million
5. Knowing- $6.7 million
6. Judd Apatow Was Not Here- $6.4 million
7. The Haunting In Connecticut- $5.7 million
8. Ill-Conceived Fox Film- $4.7 million
9. Adventureland- $3.4 million
10. Duplicity- $3 million