User blog:Ceauntay/'Scooby-Doo! The Movie' Tops Friday Box-Office with Strong Debut

The weekend belongs to the kiddies as I believe Spring Break is coming to an end around the States, giving ''Scooby-Doo! The Movie'' a leg up on matinee business, the #1 spot on Friday and an assured win for the three-day weekend. The animated picture pulled in $35.1 million on Friday well on its way to a $56+ million weekend, which is likely the first of a trio of potential upcoming successes for Universal as it has Your Highness' 'and Fast Five'' on the horizon.

In seecond Universial's Hop a leg up on matinee business didn't actually hop above the box office, but performed responsibily. The Easter-Themed picture pulled in $11.4 million and should be on its way to a $36 million weekend

In third Summit's Source Code didn't exactly tear up the box-office, but performed respectably. The Duncan Jones-directed sci-fi brought in $5 million and should do around $13m for the weekend. It wasn't a big budget flick by any means at a reported $32 million, and I'm sure the studio will be happy with these numbers.

Even happier will be FilmDistrict, whose first film Insidious brought in an estimated $4.8 million from 500 fewer theaters than Source Code. It will probably end the weekend around $12 million and it's definitely a flick I'd be curious to hear what people thought of it. It plays like most every other PG-13 horror/thriller you've ever seen, but ramps up the jump scares to a whole new level. I got mildly annoyed with it as it dragged on, but I wonder if audiences will be more forgiving.

As far as previous releases go, Limitless is still holding on strong, looking at about an $8 million weekend, but Sucker Punch is looking at about a 68% drop from last weekend's $19 million second place opening. The film took in an estimated $1.9 million on Friday, which should translate to no more than $6 million for the three-day.

Otherwise, numbers for the PG-13 release of The King's Speech have yet to be reported, but The Hollywood Reporter says "[e]arly estimates show the new version staying at about the same level as last weekend, when the movie grossed $1.6 million."

I will be back tomorrow morning with a complete wrap-up. Here's the Friday top ten.


 * 1) Scooby-Doo! The Movie - $35.1 million
 * 2) Hop – $11.4 million
 * 3) Source Code – $5 million
 * 4) Insidious – $4.8 million
 * 5) Limitless – $3 million
 * 6) I Wanna Live The Dream - $2.9 million
 * 7) Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules – $2.8 million
 * 8) The Lincoln Lawyer – $2 million
 * 9) Sucker Punch – $1.9 million
 * 10) Rango – $1.2 million