‘Hop’ maintains top position at the box office

‘Hop’ is weekend leader again by collecting an estimated $21.7 million but the Warner bros. an opening of $12.6 million for ‘Arthur’ opening at the third position earning wise after the action tale of 'Hanna.'

Performance of ‘Arthur’ below industry expectations
Though Russell Brand’s effort to prove himself in the role of a leading man couldn’t be fulfilled however the moviegoers showered their immense love to the cartoon character in his voice over the weekend.

"Hop" has continued to maintain the top position after a loss of only 42% from the last weekend. However, the performance of "Arthur," was considered below industry expectations. The movie was produced by Warner Bros. for around $40 million.

As per the information provided by the market research firm CinemaScore, the theme of the movie revolved around the booze-loving millionaire and was awarded an average grade of B by the audience.

In order to recover the film's financial prospects in the coming weeks, the studio is in hope of attracting the under-18 crowd which gave an A-minus to the movie. The movie was not liked by the older moviegoers who formed 64% of the weekend audience as they compared it with the original version.

Commenting on the performance of the movie and its star Russell Brand, Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. said, "I think the older audience was a little taken aback by the change in tone from the original.”

He further added, "I think that Russell is a movie star. It's only a matter of time until he breaks through, and it's just a question of what the big one will be.”

The earning made by the newer version is nowhere comparable to the earlier "Arthur," which had not only earned $95.5 million domestically but also succeeded in nominating actor Dudley Moore for Oscar awards.

A–Plus to ‘Soul surfer’ and c-plus to ‘Hanna’ and ‘Your Highness

Meanwhile, "Hanna," starring Saoirse Ronan as a teenage girl drew a younger audience in which 64% were below 35 years of age. The film was not very much loved by the people and was given a c-plus grading by the audience.

However, the audience for "Soul Surfer" consisted of 80% females who gave an A-plus to the movie. The female audience seemed to be completely enamored by the theme of the movie.

As the movie revolves around religious themes, the major part of the advertising campaign was focused on Christian audiences in conservative parts of the country.

Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures' distribution president said in a statement, "It definitely had a strong start in the Midwest and the South, but the film has an uplifting message that speaks not only to the Christian contingency but to a broad audience as well.”

The R-rated comedy of the weekend "Your Highness" starring Danny McBride, James Franco and Natalie Portman flopped on which Universal Pictures had spent around $50 million. Though the movie managed to attract the audience but was given a C-plus grade by the audience.

Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of domestic distribution said about the performance of the movie, "We took a risk on a film that was original, bold, outrageous and had great talent. It was reasonably budgeted, so it's not a total disaster. It just didn't fully connect with audiences, and so be it."