(NewsCore) – LOS ANGELES — Healthy Easter weekend returns are reassuring Hollywood that the 2011 box office is back on track.
Twentieth Century Fox’s 3D animated film “Rio” stayed ahead of the flock, grossing $26.8 million to retain the top spot for the second weekend in a row, according to early estimates.
The G-rated film, about a macaw that cannot fly, has now earned $81.3 million cumulatively in North America.
In second place, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp’s “Madea’s Big Happy Family” grossed $25.8 million its first weekend out, while FOX’s period drama “Water for Elephants,” starring Reese Witherspoon and “Twilight” star Robert Pattinson, beat expectations and earned $17.5 million to take third place.
“Hop,” from Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures, and “Scream 4″ from the Weinstein Co. rounded out the top five with respective grosses of $12.5 million and $7.2 million.
“Hop,” an animated film about the son of the Easter bunny, capitalized on the holiday and impressively earned 16 percent more than it did last week, bringing its cumulative gross to $100.5 million.
Twentieth Century Fox is owned by News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal and NewsCore,
Tags: Box Office, Office
Posted April 24, 2011 by Charlie Esson under Celebrity News