Box Office Report: April gets "Lucky"

WAVERING QUETION: Why aren't people in love happy?

Can somebody do me a kindness and explain to me how this weekend turned out to be so ridiculously successful at the box office? I did not believe for a second that films with as little buzz and interest as "Think Like a Man" and "The Lucky One" would end up with the colossal debuts they did, especially after more obvious smashes like "American Reunion", "Wrath of the Titans", and "Titanic 3D" seemed to wash up to some degree. Don't get me wrong, since they're still earning quite the honest intake, with "Reunion" having been made on a small profit, "Titans" pulling in a profit overseas, and "Titanic" having already tripled its budget some time ago.

Needless to say it was a weekend for underdogs, with Tim Story's black (as in the colour) comedy "Think Like a Man" becoming the surprise hit of the weekend. My guess is it found a niche in the Tyler Perry crowd of viewers, and ran with it quite well. And who could possibly be surprised that a bunch of girls flocked to theaters to check out Zac Efron in yet another Nicolas Sparks adaptation. At this point, what tween actor hasn't had the Nicolas Sparks treatment? I think we're waiting on Taylor Swift to grab one up, and I admit that if she did that, I might actually see it. Why? Because I'm an idiot who loves Taylor Swift, so back off keep reading.

Any fears that "The Hunger Games" would lose its staying power quickly were unfounded, since the April slate has given it plenty time to continue raking in greater profits. Nothing major enough to steal its thunder, at least until "The Avengers" hits in just under two weeks. Even "Chimpanzee" managed to perform well, considering how continuously declining the Disneynature property has been over the past few years. There currently isn't another project scheduled for 2013, but they may decide to change that given the moderate success of their latest effort. Perhaps "Bear Cubs"? Who doesn't love cute little bear cubs? Keep with what's cute.

As far as last week's releases go, they held just enough to avoid dropping above 50%, but they're clearly yesterday's news, or they will be soon enough. Such a shame. I was just coming around to "Cabin in the Woods". "21 Jump Street" continues to be doing surprisingly well, though it's victory lap is calming down, and it should be cycled out of the conversation by this time next week. The same, sadly, goes for "Mirror Mirror", which won't quite make back its budget domestically, but the overseas intake assures that wasn't financially spoiled, and we know that is certainly wasn't a creative waste. Or at least I do. Overall, this weekend was pretty precisely on par with last year, when "Madea's Big Happy Family" was the overwhelming presence at the box office, though "Rio" stood strong slightly above it.

1. "Think Like a Man" (First Weekend; $33 million)

2. "The Lucky One" (First Weekend; $22.8 million)

3. "The Hunger Games" (Fifth Weekend; $14.5 million; $356.9 MILLION TOTAL)

4. "Chimpanzee" (First Weekend; $10.2 million)

5. "The Three Stooges" (Second Weekend; $9.2 million; $29.4 MILLION TOTAL)

6. "The Cabin in the Woods" (Second Weekend; $7.8 million; $27 MILLION TOTAL)

7. "American Reunion" (Third Weekend; $5.2 million; $48.3 MILLION TOTAL)

8. "Titanic 3D" (Third Weekend; $5 million; $52.8 MILLION TOTAL)

9. "21 Jump Street" (Sixth Weekend; $4.6 million; $127 MILLION TOTAL)

10. "Mirror Mirror" (Fourth Weekend; $4.1 million; $55.2 MILLION TOTAL)