Kenneth Branagh’s Thor debuted strongly in Australia where it earned a mighty per screen average of $26,363 during its debut weekend and earned more than the original Iron Man film did in its debut. But Universal's Fast Five, the latest entry in the Fast and Furious street racing series, easily topped Thor down under as it set new box office records for Universal in three of the four foreign territories it opened in.   Fast Five will almost certainly top the U.S. box office next weekend, but Rio took the Easter  weekend session with an estimated $26.8 million (57% of which came from 3-D venues). Overseas Rio continues to perform well, and Fox’s animated bird epic is now the #1 film of 2011 worldwide, a title it is not likely to hold for long.

 

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): April 22 - 24, 2011
	Film	Weekend Gross	Screens	Avg./ Screen	Total Gross	Wk#
1	Rio	$26,800,000	3,842	$6,976	$81,261,000	2
2	Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family	$25,750,000	2,288	$11,254	$25,750,000	1
3	Water for Elephants	$17,500,000	2,817	$6,212	$17,500,000	1
4	Hop	$12,461,000	3,616	$3,446	$100,500,000	4
5	Scream 4	$7,154,000	3,314	$2,159	$31,158,000	2
6	African Cats	$6,400,000	1,220	$5,246	$6,400,000	1
7	Soul Surfer	$5,600,000	2,240	$2,500	$28,664,000	3
8	Insidious	$5,384,000	2,130	$2,528	$44,178,000	4
9	Hanna	$5,277,000	2,384	$2,214	$31,718,000	3
10	Source Code	$5,063,000	2,363	$2,143	$44,664,000	4

 

Rio, which dropped just 31.7% and took the box office crown for the second week in a row, just nosed out Tyler Perry’s Medea’s Big Happy Family, the latest entry in Perry’s Medea cycle, which earned an estimated $25.8 million thanks to a strong $11,254 per theater average. 81% of the audience for Medea’s Big Happy Family was African-American, while 72% was female, and 69% over 25 years of age. Perry has successfully figured out how to appeal to a sector of the audience that has been traditionally underserved.

 

Another new film that performed above expectations was the adult drama Water for Elephants, which earned an estimated $17.5 million. Fox skillfully marketed the period romantic drama to the same demographic group that made Sara Gruen’s novel a bestseller—older women. 70% of the opening weekend audience was female, with 70% over 25---and though critical notices for the film were barely positive (53% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave the film a solid “A-“ CinemaScore.

 

The weekend’s other new release, the Disney wildlife documentary African Cats earned $6.4 million from just 1,220 theaters, posting the weeks 4th highest per-theater average of $5,426. 

 

A number of holdovers did well led by the Easter-themed Hop, which actually posted a 16.3% gain as it added $12.4 million and brought its total past the $100 million mark. Soul Surfer (-23%), Insidious (-20.2%), Hanna (-27.5%), and Source Code (-18.5%) all posted strong holds. Aided by a strong trio of newcomers, the holdovers pushed the box office total 34% over the same weekend last year—though that wasn’t an Easter frame. When compared with 2010’s record-setting Easter weekend, this year’s total was down 23% as 2011’s box office troubles continued.

 

The big loser this week was Scream 4, which suffered a 61.7% decline from its disappointing debut last week. This is one franchise that appears to be played out.

 

Next weekend Fast Five, the fifth installment in the Fast and the Furious series, will give the box office an excellent opportunity to burst out of its 2011 doldrums, while Thor will debut on May 6th and formally kick off the summer movie season.