This Week In Theaters - Rio and Scream 4 open in wide release this weekend. After a slow weekend, theaters are set for a mid-April bounce. The 2011 box office has yet to see a $40 million open, but there could have two this weekend. Animated movies have already dominated the box office with Rango and Hop both opening in the high $30 millions and the streak is set to continue. Directed by Carlos Saldanha, who was a co-director on Ice Age and Robots, Rio will head to Brazil and potentially cash-in at cinemas in the mid-$40 million range, according to trader on The Hollywood Stock Exchange. In a likely second place, Wes Craven's Scream 4 with Neve Campbell and a host of returning and new younger stars is aiming for an open in the high $30 millions. However, in 2000, Scream 3 debuted with $34.7 million. With higher ticket prices, a similar debut today would be over $50 million. If the Scream franchise retained its old fans and manages to bring new horror fans in, there could be a lot of sold out showings Friday night.
Last weekend, Hop collected an addition $21.2 million. It was a bit larger drop than expected, but the second weekend was down from a very strong first weekend. In a close race for second, Hanna managed to adapt past Arthur. $12.4 million for Hanna was a bit stronger than predicted, while the $12.2 million for Arthur was a letdown. Soul Surfer arrived in 4th with $10.6 million. In fifth place, Insidious had a great second weekend dropping less than 30%. The biggest disappointment of the weekend was likely Your Highness. The movie missed the mark at the box office and with critics (25% on Rotten Tomatoes). Expect a rapid drop off this upcoming weekend.