Box Office Report: Hannah Montana Speeds Past Fast and Furious

By Jeff Olson
April 12, 2009
Source: BoxOfficeMojo

Vin Diesel couldn’t make it a second straight weekend at the top of the box office. The Fast and Furious sequel was trumped by Disney’s family film Hannah Montana The Movie. The Easter weekend was good to Hannah Montana which raked in $34 million in it’s first three days; but other new release like Seth Rogen’s comedy Observe and Report failed to find an audience. The R rated mall cop comedy made only $11 million in it’s opening weekend. The other major new release of the weekend was Dragonball Evolution which made a dismal $4.6 million from Friday to Sunday. Last week’s champ Fast and Furious saw a 59% decline but still made an impressive $28 million for a number two finish this weekend. Continue reading for a full breakdown of this weekend’s box office results.

The number three spot of the weekend went to Monsters VS. Aliens, which in it’s third week, made another $22.6 million. That puts it at a total of $141 million in just three weeks. This year has seen some strong box office receipts with Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Taken, Watchmen, and Monsters VS. Aliens all grossing over $100 million. Fast and Furious will be the next on that list very shortly as it has grossed $99.8 million, and it is only in it’s second week of release.

So, why did Observe and Report bomb so badly? Did audiences just not need another mall cop comedy this year? Was it’s R rating too harsh for a Easter weekend that saw Hannah Montana soar to victory? Observes’ weekend gross of $11 million is significantly less than Seth Rogen’s previous comedy releases. In comparison to hits like Pineapple Express and Knocked Up, Observe and Report failed to find an audience.

The weekend box office saw Hannah at number one, Fast and Furious with number two, Monsters VS. Aliens held strong at three, Observe and Report a distant fourth, and Nicolas Cage’s Knowing took the fifth spot.

For a full list of grosses and weekend estimates visit Box Office Mojo. Next weekend we will report on Zac Efron’s 17 Again, the political thriller State of Play, and the high-octane action flick, Crank: High Voltage.