Wimpy Kid Beats Sucker Punch

In a surprise upset Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 came in #1 at the box office this weekend topping the expected champ Sucker Punch. Last week’s openers showed strength in their second weekends proving that despite their strong premieres March Madness did have an effect on their final tallies.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules pulled in $24.4 million which already exceeds its $21 million budget. The family film comes off an understated first film that opened to $22 million but was largely thought to be forgotten. As an adaptation of the novels it appears to have a supportive fan base and despite mixed reviews that trended negative.

Sucker Punch was the big disappointment of the weekend as what was supposed to be the first “event” pic of the year ended up making just $19 million. Despite getting a lot of press much of it turned out to be negative as reviewers slammed the film. With a budget of $82 million it may not be a disaster but it won’t be the success that WB was hoping for. It also starts to create some concern about why the studio chose Zack Snyder to helm Superman when a poorly received movie from him was coming down the pipeline.

Last weekends #1 was Limitless which fell only 19% this weekend to collect another $15.2 million in third place, while The Lincoln Lawyer finished in fourth falling a measly 17% for $11 million. Filling out the rest of the top ten were Rango (crossing $100 million), Battle: Los Angeles, Paul, Red Riding Hood, The Adjustment Bureau, and Mars Needs Moms.