The domestic box office has come up snake-eyes virtually every weekend this year when compared with 2010, and this weekend was no different, this time dropping 30 percent relative to the same frame last year.
The most recent drop came despite one of the year's strongest box office performances yet, a $38.1 million opening haul from Universal family film "Hop," which was predicted by many to bring in about $10 million less than that.
So it goes for a domestic box office that was down 20 percent in the first quarter … and just started Q2 in a hole, too. (Although it should be noted that the year-to-year comparison is to Easter Weekend 2010.)
According to studio estimates, Summit's thriller "Source Code" came in second, hitting the low end of its pre-release results with $15 million.
The Oren Peli-produced indie horror film "Insidious" was third, grossing an estimated $12.9 million over the three-day period.
On the indie front, Fox Searchlight expanded "Win Win" to 149 theaters and grossed nearly $1.2 million, a validation of the Sundance favorite that the studio is quietly hoping might cross over to mainstream audiences.
Read also: Win-Win Ready to Move Up in Weight Class
Here's how the top 10 finished. Analysis continues below chart:
Budgeted at what its backers said was a modest $63 million, "Hop" arrived as the follow-up to last year's breakout hit "Despicable Me," the first 3D/CG family film made under a new collaboration by Universal and Christopher Meledandri's Illumination Entertainment.
"Hop's" terrible reviews and opening numbers weren't on par with "Despicable Me," but the movie still scored with its core kiddie audience, garnering an "A-minus" grade from moviegoer survey firm Cinemascore.
The film — a CG/live-action hybrid voice-starring Russell Brand as an Easter Bunny — also grossed $7 million opening simultaneously in 26 foreign territories.
"It's eye candy," said Nikki Rocco, president of distribution for Universal. "Chris and Illumination know how to make a movie like this."
Shot by Vendome Pictures for $32 million and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the thriller "Source Code" came into the market with great reviews (nearly 90 percent, according to Rotten Tomatoes), but it couldn't beat pre-release estimates in the mid-to-high teens.
"It opened pretty much as we expected," said Summit distribution chief Richie Fay.
Summit, he added, anticipates that "Source Code" will enjoy the same long legs as holdovers "Limitless" and "The Lincoln Lawyer," the latter of which declined only 34 percent in its third weekend.
As for "Insidious," the film was shot by Peli and his notoriously thrifty "Paranormal Activity" gang for $1.5 million. According to an individual with knowledge of the deal, distributor FilmDistrict acquired the domestic end of the film for $5 million in cash, plus a prints-and-advertising commitment of $25 million – $30 million.
Among holdovers, Zack Snyder film "Sucker Punch" dropped nearly 70 percent in weekend No. 2, grossing just $6.1 million and bringing the two-week total for the action movie, budgeted at well over $70 million, to just $29.9 million domestic.
The Weinstein Company, meanwhile, re-released a PG-13 version of the Oscar-winning "King's Speech" in 1,001 theaters, grossing $1.2 million.
