Hop hops ahead of new competition

Hop is the once and future box office champion and a flick off which several unique baby gifts can likely be spun. Last weekend’s top draw is on top of the box office once again, as Hop drew $21.6 million in its second weekend of release. While business dropped for the title over 40 percent, it still drew nearly twice as many ticket-buyers as anything else on display.

Coming in second place, at least at the moment, is the remake of Arthur, which drew $12.6 million, about one third lower than even the most modest expectations. In fact, action-suspense flick Hanna drew in a healthy $12.3 million for third place, and it’s still not impossible that in the final tally, Hanna could inch ahead of Arthur.

Surfing feel-good flick Soul Surfer wasn’t too far behind in fourth place, with a respectable $11.1 million, given the low budget and skimpy promotion that film received. Nothing else topped $10 million. That includes ultra-cheap thriller Insidious ($9.7 million/$27 million to date/$1.5 million budget) in fifth place and the extremely disappointing performance of Your Highness ($9.5 million debut/$49.9 million budget).

Source Code managed just over $9 million to secure seventh place, and after that receipts really fell off. Source Code should make its money back, but won’t post big profits as it fell precipitously in its second week of release.

Things won’t get any less competitive ahead; expected to open big is the “Angry Birds” movie, RIO. Also, Wes Craven debuts Scream 4, a modern update of the decade-old franchise. After that, new releases look dismal until May.