Weekend Estimates: Wimpy Kid Defeats Sucker Punch

March 27, 2011

The last weekend in March have brought us another pair of movies opening in the high teens to low twenties. This time around Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules was the low-twenties movie, picking up a very respectable $24.4 million on debut, which is a shade ahead of the $22 million earned by the first film in the franchise this time last year. Sucker Punch produced a slightly disappointing $19 million opening weekend, which is a drop in the bucket compared to its $75 million budget. It'll need good international numbers and a strong home market performance to recoup costs. Overall box office will be down about 7% from last year, continuing 2011's losing streak, although that makes this one of the better weekends of the year so far.

Two films enjoyed excellent second weekends. Limitless was down just 19% in its second weekend to post an estimated $15.2 million, and The Lincoln Lawyer lost only 17% of its opening to bring in an estimated $11 million. Those kinds of hold are extremely unusual these days, which is perhaps a reflection of the changed dynamic in the market this year. With no big tentpoles drawing audiences, maybe moviegoers are being more selective in their choices and rewarding the better films?

This might be helping limited releases too, as six films posted per theater averages over $10,000 this weekend (and we might hear from some more on Monday). Bill Cunningham New York led the pack with an impressive second weekend average of $23,000 in three theaters. Win Win was equally strong in 23 theaters, averaging over $20,000. Jane Eyre topped $10,000 for the third weekend running and earned nearly $1 million from 90 theaters. The best limited opener of the weekend was Mia and the Magoo, which posted over $17,000 in a single theater for GKIDS.

- 3-Day Weekend Estimates
- Daily estimates for Friday
- Daily estimates for Saturday
- Daily projections for Sunday

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Jane Eyre, Sucker Punch, Limitless, Win Win, Jane Eyre, The Lincoln Lawyer, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Bill Cunningham New York, Mia et le Migou