Weekend Box Office Report: April 3-5: Big Cars, Big Names, Big Money

Friday was my birthday.  Every year when my birthday roles around, there are two
things I wonder about.  The first
is whether all the snow will be gone by that day and the second is what
horrific mess Hollywood will unleash on my special day.  You see, April is considered in the
industry to be the biggest dumping ground for films after January and the first
week of April is the worst of all.  This year was no different and nothing was expected to fare well.  Certainly no records were expected to
be smashed.  Hollywood will learn a
new lesson though now.  April
should not be dismissed and Vin Diesel should never be underestimated.

I’m sure no one at Universal saw this coming.  They brought back the original cast of
a waning franchise and instead of pulling in modest returns that would
eventually justify its budget, Fast and Furious pulled out of the garage and
way up in front of the rest.  Not
only did it outpace the entire domestic gross of the last installment, it also
boasts the biggest April opening weekend ever and the second biggest opening
for any film outside of the summer or holiday seasons and frames, behind The Passion of the Christ.  It’s $20K
per screen average exceeds every other title in release but its true test will
be longevity.  Fast out of the gate
does not always mean a first place finish in the end.  Still, if I was wearing a hat right now, I would tip my it
to Universal; you definitely pulled a fast one on me and have left me somewhat
furious.

This weekend’s only other Top 10 debut fell in line with
expectations, as Adventureland opened in sixth place.  The film stars Twilight sensation, Kristen Stewart but she
cannot open pictures yet and this is hardly her picture to open.  Someone should have told helmer, Greg
Mottola that teenagers don’t like their movies with perspective, just
profanity.  Meanwhile, indie
favorite, Sunshine Cleaning snuck into the Top 10 in its fourth week of
release.  In its widest expansion
yet, the film seems to have reached its saturation point, seeing its per screen
average dip below $4K.

Two sophomore efforts debuted to solid starts this weekend
in the art house world.  Les Choristes director, Christophe Barratier returns with Paris 36.  Opening on just 7 screens, this
amusingly theatrical romp pulled in an average of over $10K.  And you would think that after making a
splash and directing Ryan Gosling to an Oscar nomination in their first effort, Half Nelson, that Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck would be looking to make bigger
inroads toward Hollywood but they played things very indie with Sugar.  Unfortunately, the baseball film opened
on 11 screens to the tune of a mediocre average of under $7K.  Good word of mouth will be needed for
both to flourish.

NEXT WEEK: April tries to earn back its reputation as a
garbage month with Dragonball: Evolution (2100 screens).  Seth Rogen will try to fly without a
mustache in the second comedy this year to have a mall cop as a protagonist in Observe and Report (2500 screens).  Neither will be able to trump Miley Cyrus though.  Hannah Montana: The Movie will be
rolling out on over 3000 screens.  Cover your ears; the screaming girls are coming this way.

Weekend Top 10