“Wimpy Kid” beats up “Sucker Punch”

“Sucker Punch” becomes the latest geek-focused film to underperform at the box office as the PG-13 action/fantasy self-described as “‘Alice in Wonderland’ with machine guns” made just below $20 million, which is about where “Kick-Ass” landed a little less than a year ago. The film drew the ire of most critics, but so did “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” which did more or less the same business as its predecessor from last year.

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules – $23.7 M (weekend) … $23.7 M (gross)
2. Sucker Punch – $19 M … $19 M
3. Limitless – $15 M .. $41.1 M
4. The Lincoln Lawyer – $10.7 M … $28.7 M
5. Rango – $9.7 M  … $106.3 M
6. Paul – $7.8 M … $24.9 M
7. Battle: Los Angeles – $7.5 M … $72.5 M
8. Red Riding Hood – $4.3 M … $32.4 M
9. The Adjustment Bureau – $4.2 M … $54.9 M
10. Mars Needs Moms – $2.2 M … $19.2 M

“Wimpy Kid” continued to prove the value of adapting a good kids’ book. Although the number will probably wane with the next installments in the coming years, making back your production budget in one weekend guarantees a fruitful Hollywood franchise.

“Sucker Punch” failing to draw audiences gave “Limitless” and “The Lincoln Lawyer” some great holdover numbers in their second week. Both saw declines of just 20 percent from last weekend. “Rango” also continued its slow decline and hung around to make the top five for the fourth straight week. It will likely see its first substantive decline when “Hop” comes to theaters on Friday.

March had a few surprise hits and some critically ripped duds. “Rango” remains one of the best-reviewed films of 2011 while “The Adjustment Bureau” and “Limitless” did decent business.