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.
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS hits the big screen this week in a movie adaptation starring Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz. Water for Elephants was one of our Top 10 Books of 2006 and has been on bestsellers lists for almost five years.
When a debut novel is listed as a "must read" by authors like Stephen King and Carl Hiaasen, people pay attention. That's exactly what's happened with Swamplandia by Karen Russell, a debut novel released in February that's received a lot of buzz and sold well. If the endorsements don't catch your attention, perhaps the cover will (my 3 year old wanted to read the book when he saw it!). But does this novel live up to expectations? Our reviewer, Mike Sullivan, has the scoop.
