LOS ANGELES – After collecting more than $50 million in its foreign debut, Fox's animated "Rio" lands in North America this weekend and should perch right at the top of the domestic chart with receipts of about $30 million.
This G-rated tale of a domesticated macaw that sets off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro has a lot going for it, including its obvious appeal to families and kids on spring break, very effective use of 3-D, strong reviews and that impressive following under way overseas.
Horror films typically have a built-in fan base and Weinstein Co.'s successful "Scream" franchise has had a following of devotees ever since the groundbreaking first film hit theaters in December 1996. Combining horror thrills with irreverent humor and an attractive teen cast, the film went on to become the 13th highest grossing film that year. The last installment in 2000 opened in the low $30 million range and "Scream 4" coming over a decade later should scare up a gross in the $25 million to $30 million range.
Universal's "Hop" was the first film released in 2011 to top the chart for two consecutive weekends and has truly benefited from an Easter theme that has endeared it to family audiences to the tune of $70 million thus far. Even with increased family-film competition in the marketplace this weekend, the irresistible appeal of Russell Brand as the son of the Easter bunny will still attract likely business in the $10 million range.
"Hanna" from Focus Features had a solid opening weekend last week, which saw the film jump from third to second place when the final numbers were tallied on Monday. Holding up extremely well and generating solid word-of-mouth, the intense action film features a terrific cast, including Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, and Saoirse Ronan in the title role. "Hanna" will likely see a modest second weekend drop with a gross in the $8 million to $10 million range.
This leaves Warner Bros.' comedy remake "Arthur" and Sony's inspirational true story "Soul Surfer" to battle it out for fifth place, with expected second-weekend grosses in the range of $5 million to $7 million.
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