"Rio" soars high

Writer: Anne Jamaludin

From left: Rafael (George Lopez), Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) & Jewel (Anne Hathaway) in "Rio"

18 Apr – Moviegoers flocked to "Rio" but fled from "Scream 4" while "Hop" drops to third place at the North American box office over the weekend just gone (15-17 April), reports BoxOfficeMojo.

The colourful exotic birds animation "Rio" led with an estimated US$40 million, garnering collection on both normal as well as 3D screenings and it edged out "Rango"'s US$38.1 million and "Hop"'s US$37.5 million to claim the highest-grossing opening weekend of 2011 so far.

Evidently the "Scream" franchise was played out long ago, judging by the returns for "Scream 4", literally as the fourth horror instalment only managed to rip an estimated US$19.3 million, which is considered low compared to "Scream 3"'s US$34.7 million in its opening weekend back in February 2000.

Meanwhile "Hop" ranked third with an estimated US$11.2 million, dropped 48 percent compared to its opening weekend and tallying US$82.6 million in 17 days which is nearly US$10 million less than Rango at the same point.

The newly-opened 9-screen MBO Viva Home cinema in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile in Malaysia, GSV Midvalley cinema manager Mr. Lee Kong Yew shared the top three highest-grossing movies at the location over the weekend are Jake Gyllenhaal's action thriller "Source Code", Bradley Cooper's superhero-themed flick "Limitless" followed by Singaporean horror comedy "The Ghost Must Be Crazy".

Other new releases and sneak shows over the weekend in Malaysia include "The Lion Of Punjab", "Scream 4", "Love And Other Drugs", "Senjakala", "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never", "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (3D)", "The Last Dragon" and "Chase Our Love".

New releases and sneak shows in Singapore over the weekend include "Scream 4", "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never", "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (3D)", "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2D)", "The Ultimate Winner", "Security Police: The Motion Picture", "Aku Tak Bodoh", "Love And Other Impossible Pursuits", "B.K.O. Bangkok Knockout", "Thank You", "Senjakala" and "Norwegian Wood".