Weekend Recap: “Dragon” defaults to No. 1

Well, “The Losers” were big losers and “The Back-up Plan” was just that this weekend as “How to Train Your Dragon” won the box office despite last being out five weeks ago and not having been No. 1 since its opening. I have nothing to compare this to except maybe Grover Cleveland being elected to two non-consecutive terms as president of the United States. Somehow, sadly enough, that feels like an adequate association.

Meanwhile, the box office is limping into the summer season. This weekend was the worst box office gross of 2010, which says a lot considering some of the junk that comes out earlier in the year. Expect a jump of more than 100 percent when “Iron Man 2” hits in a couple weeks unless there’s a mini surge with Freddy Krueger’s return on Friday.

1. How to Train Your Dragon – $15.3 M (weekend) … $178.3 M (gross)
2. The Back-up Plan $12.2 M … $12.2 M
3. Date Night – $10.4 M … $63.3 M
4. The Losers – $9.4 M … $9.4 M
5. Kick-Ass – $9.3 M … $34.7 M
6. Clash of the Titans – $8.9 M … $145.5 M
7. Death at a Funeral – $8 M … $28.4 M
8. Oceans – $6 M … $6 M
9. The Last Song – $3.7 M … $55.4 M
10. Alice in Wonderland – $3.6 M … $324.1 M

“The Back-up Plan failed” to put much of a dent into the success of “Date Night,” which saw just $2 million fewer in nearly the same amount of theaters despite having been released two weeks prior. “The Losers” and “Kick-Ass,” both action flicks, earned nearly the same at just below $10 million.

Disney Nature’s Earth Day-friendly “Ocean”s earned less than its predecessor, finishingeighth with $8 million.