For the first time in a while, the box office soared this weekend—thanks largely to a lucrative performance by the animated birds of Rio.
20th Century Fox feathered its nest with an estimated $40 million this weekend from the CGI film—the highest opening for any film this year. It more than doubled the take of second-place Scream 4, which shrieked to an underwhelming $19.3 million take. It’s the lowest opening for a Scream movie since the very first installment, which suggests the series might be in the same state as many of Ghostface’s victims: breathing its last.
While Plugged In wasn’t too enamored with Rio—reviewer Meredith Whitmore took issue with the movie’s focus on external beauty and wondered if young viewers might leave the theater “thinking about how their true value lies in showing off a few of their own tail feathers”—it was certainly a far more family-friendly choice than the fourth slice of Scream.
And, with Hop and Soul Surfer sliding into spots 3 and 4, respectively (Soul Surfer performing particularly well with a $7.4 million take), the weekend’s grosses sent the film industry an unmistakable message: Family movies rule. Films made to cater to 20-something males—Hollywood’s most reliable audience for decades—have underperformed lately, while animated fare has, um, taken flight. Three of 2011’s top five films (Rango, Gnomeo & Juliet and Hop) are CGI films ostensibly pegged to a family audience.
But before fans of animation start clinking their chocolate milk glasses in celebration, a word of caution. While these movies make money, they also cost money—lots of it. Disney reportedly spent a quarter of a billion dollars to bring Gnomeo to the big screen, and has thus far taken in “just” $97 million. Horror films are typically far cheaper to make. Which means Scream could rise up off the floor again like a villain that just won’t die.
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