Box Office Update: To Another Day...

Well, 2011 still continues to pale in comparison to 2010, but this weekend could actually be considered a modest success. I'm going to consider 2010 an anomaly, as it started out huger than it had any right to, and then eventually drowned into the doldrums of summer before making it to a decent winter season. This year seems to be moving at a pace that's more agreeable, even if it's seen as a massive failure right now. This weekend was never going to beat out the same weekend last year, mostly because last year ushered in the surprise success of Alice in Wonderland. That film truly robbed the 3D market a month before ticket prices escalated and people began to question the value of 3D.

This weekend, we had Rango, which is a completely new enterprise that's only working off the children's demographic and Johnny Depp's name, even though it's animated. So from that perspective, I'd say it opened pretty spectacularly, especially seeing as it should hold onto those numbers in the following weeks. Gnomeo and Juliet is on its way to $100 million, mostly through promising repeat business, and when the decision props up between seeing Rango and Mars Needs Moms, I think people will pick the former. As for the live action option of this weekend, The Adjustment Bureau underperformed, as expected. I guess the less-than-amazing reviews did take a beating to the morale of moviegoers.

Beastly, surprisingly enough, managed the third spot on the chart, garnering just over $10 million. That's crazy for a film opening at under 2000 sites, but I imagine it won't be doing too well over the next couple weeks, because reviews for the film have been anything but pretty. The only other thing worth commenting on is The King's Speech's post-Oscar weekend, which boosted the undeserving film above Inglourious Basterds to be The Weinstein Company's highest grossing feature. This weekend was a 37.2% drop from last year, but a 17.3% increase from 2009 when Watchmen opened in the top spot.

1. Rango (First Weekend; $38 million)
2. The Adjustment Bureau (First Weekend; $21 million)
3. Beastly (First Weekend; $10.1 million)
4. Hall Pass (Second Weekend; $9 million)
5. Gnomeo and Juliet (Fourth Weekend; $6.9 million)
6. Unknown (Third Weekend; $6.6 million)
7. The King's Speech (Fifteenth Weekend; $6.5 million)
8. Just Go With It (Fourth Weekend; $6.5 million)
9. I Am Number Four (Third Weekend; $5.7 million)
10. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (Fourth Weekend; $4.3 million)