HANNA STRONGER THAN EXPECTED; ARTHUR WEAKER

Hold on! Russell Brand pictures did not finish in first and second place at the weekend box office as Sunday estimates had indicated. Final figures did indeed put the animated Hop, for which Brand provided the voice of the lead character, in first place with $21.3 million, but “lovable drunk” flick Arthur, which also starred Brand and which the studio had estimated would wind up in second place, found itself in third place when receipts were counted with $12.2 million, edged out by the debut of the low-budget thriller Hanna, which collected $12.4 million. Two other newcomers had divergent outcomes. The low-budget faith-based Soul Surfer earned a solid if unspectacular $11.1 million, while the relatively big-budget stoner comedy Your Highness tanked with just $9.5 million. Commented New York magazine’s Vulture blog: “In short, films of substance triumphed over films of substance abuse.”

The top ten films over the weekend, according to final figures compiled by Box Office Mojo (figures in parentheses represent total gross to date):
1. Hop, Universal, $21,298,240, 2 Wks. ($67,754,545); 2. Hanna, Focus, $12,370,549, (New); 3. Arthur, Warner Bros., $12,222,756, (New); 4. Soul Surfer, Sony/Tristar, $10,601,862, (New); 5. Insidious, Film District, $9,371,769, 2 Wks. ($26,728,357); 6. Your Highness, Universal, $9,360,020, (New); 7. Source Code, Summit, $8,650,238, 2 Wks. ($28,218,871); 8. Limitless, Relativity Media, $5,461,378, 4 Wks. ($64,149,608); 9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, 20th Century Fox, $4,770,987, 2 Wks. ($45,348,247); 10. The Lincoln Lawyer, Lionsgate, $4,281,598, 4 Wks. ($46,136,408).