Slasher flick Scream 4 could not scare off 3D animated hit Rio in its opening weekend at the Aussie box office.
Scream 4 – a highly-anticipated sequel which reunites director Wes Craven and his cast from the original – couldn’t put the knife into the Fox animated film, but still made almost $1.8 million from 187 screens, giving it a healthy average of $9619.
Universal’s Paul, written by and starring Shaun of the Dead legends Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, took in almost $2.2 million from 203 screens in its opening weekend, giving it a big average of $10,813, however it also fell to Rio.
Rio, featuring the voices of Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada) and Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Zombieland), had a 33 per cent increase on opening weekend, and raked in more than $3 million across 467 screens, giving it a screen average of $6546.
Another animated hit Hop, which had a massive opening in North America with $US37.5 million, came in third in its second weekend, making $2.1 million from 256 screens.
Meanwhile Warner Bros’ action fantasy film Sucker Punch, which local vendor Animal Logic worked on, took in $884,460 from 248 screens and dark fantasy flick Red Riding Hood, shot by Melbourne cinematographer Mandy Walker, made just $227,871 in its fourth week.
The only Aussie film at the local box office, Griff The Invisible, made $2606 from just one screen. Since opening on March 17, the Paramount/Transmission quirky rom-com has made $198,072.
Mars Needs Moms, distributed by Walt Disney, continued its dismal run making just $70,883 across 109 screens in its first weekend in Australia, giving it a low screen average of $650.
Films opening this week include Fast and the Furious 5, Arthur and Thor.
Australian films at the local box office:
|
Film
|
Budget
|
Distributor
|
Opening w/e
|
Box Office
|
|
Sanctum
|
$30m
|
Universal
|
$1,595,021
|
$3,838,154
|
|
Wasted On The Young
|
|
Paramount
|
$52,118
|
$138,724
|
|
Griff The Invisible
|
$2m
|
Paramount/Transmission
|
$66,344
|
$198,072
|
|
The Reef
|
$3.8m
|
Pinnacle Films
|
$58,196
|
$124,764
|
|
A Heartbeat Away
|
$7m
|
Hoyts
|
$44,204
|
$118,658
|
Source: MPDAA, IF