Weekend Box Office Report

Looks like Vin Diesel has a career again.

Shocking absolutely everyone–including, I’m sure, the director, the cast and the studio–audiences turned out in force to see Fast & Furious this weekend, driving the film to a jaw-dropping $72.5 million #1 debut.  That’s not only the biggest opening of any movie in this franchise, it’s also the biggest opening of any Universal Studios picture, the biggest opening for an April release and the biggest opening so far of 2009, best last week’s champ, Monsters vs. Aliens.  Apparently, Americans aren’t interested in buying cars, but they will fork over $12 to watch a movie in which people race around in–and occasionally destroy–those gas-guzzlers.

The unexpected success of Fast & Furious is great news for Universal, Vin Diesel and director Justin Lin, but not-so-great news for DreamWorks Animation, which watched Monsters vs. Aliens fall to a distant second place with $33.5 million, lifting its total gross to $105.7 million.  With little animated competition in the weeks ahead, the movie should continue to attract family audiences, but Kung Fu Panda’s $215 million gross seems well out of reach.  Look for MvA to fall more in the Bee Movie/Over the Hedge range, which is a shame, because it’s a better movie than either of those efforts.  The 3-5 slots were claimed by, in order, The Haunting in Connecticut, Knowing and I Love You, Man, which is still chugging along nicely in its third week out. Does this mean Paul Rudd is officially a movie star now?

Miramax had high hopes in Greg Mottola’s Superbad follow-up Adventureland, but the low-key coming of age comedy couldn’t crack the Top 5, instead opening in sixth with a not-so-great $6 million.  And while its possible that the film could still turn into the same word-of-mouth cult hit that the similarly-themed Garden State became, it’s likely that most viewers won’t discover the movie until DVD.  The same could be said of the Julia Roberts/Clive Owen comic thriller Duplicity, which has steadily dropped down the chart despite strong critical praise and the presence of two–well…okay, one–major movie star.  (Sorry Clive, I love ya, but your box-office record is weak to say the least.)  The WWE wrestlers-turned-film actors Dwayne Johnson and John Cena remained within striking distance of each other as Race to Witch Mountain and 12 Rounds dropped to eight and ninth place respectively, after finishing sixth and seventh a week earlier.  Finally, the indie comedy Sunshine Cleaning has done what many low-budget Sundance approved flicks fail to do–land in the Top Ten.  Since opening in limited release on March 13, the movie has overcome mixed reviews to become a word-of-mouth hit.  This weekend, it finished in tenth place with $1.8 million, bringing its total gross to $4.7 million, which is probably what it roughly casued to make.

The full Top Ten is below courtesy of the-numbers.com.  Next week, Seth Rogen faces off against Miley Cyrus as Observe and Report and Hannah Montana: The Movie go head-to-head and Fox dumps Dragonball Evolution into theaters with no press screenings and little advanced promotion.  Who the heck wanted to see a live-action Dragonball movie anyway? 

The Top Ten: April 3-5, 2009
1. Fast & Furious: $72.5
2. Monsters vs. Aliens: $33.5/$105.7
3. The Haunting in Connecticut: $9.5/$37.2
4. Knowing: $8.1/$58.2
5. I Love You, Man: $7.8/$49.2
6. Adventureland: $6
7. Duplicity: $4.3/$32.3
8. Race to Witch Mountain: $3.3/$58.3
9. 12 Rounds: $2.3/$9
10. Sunshine Cleaning: $1.8/$4.7