Weekend Recap: Cash for Clash

Nothing like perfect predictions. While I did overestimate how much Clash of the Titans would make this weekend by about $20 M, I feel pretty good about that, because it means the 3D phenomena has cooled off a bit.

“Clash” earned about half of what Alice in Wonderland did in its opening weekend, which despite one targeting a wider audience still suggests live-action 3D – given the higher ticket prices – is not something that will continue to produce incredible profits. With a slightly more modest budget compared to other blockbusters, however, “Clash” will gladly take half its production budget back in one weekend and the record for best Easter weekend gross ever.

1. Clash of the Titans – $61.2 M (weekend) … $61.2 M (gross)
2. Why Did I Get Married Too? – $29.3 M … $29.3 M
3. How to Train Your Dragon – $29 M … $92.1 M
4. The Last Song – $16 M … $25.4 M
5. Alice in Wonderland – $8.2 M … $309.7 M
6. Hot Tub Time Machine – $8 M … $27.9 M
7. The Bounty Hunter $6 M … $48.8 M
8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid – $5.3 M … $46 M
9. She’s Out of My League – $1.5 M … $28.7 M
10. Shutter Island – $1.4 M … $123.4 M

Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon, last week’s No.1 film, had a strong second outing with nearly $30 million, which was only a loss of about 30 percent and Alice in Wonderland crossed the $300 million mark, bringing to into the Top 30 in the all-time U.S. box office and making it the most successful film ever released in the month of March and the second most successful film ever to be released outside of the peak seasons behind The Passion of the Christ.

Tyler Perry’s couples comedy “Married Too” did better in comparison to most of his films, earning second place. Nicholas Sparks romance The Last Song earned $25 M in its five-day total, which would have been good for fourth as well.

The box office was up a solid yet expected 44 percent from last weekend.