Rio Reigns at the Box Office

This weekend, the box office belonged to the birds as the winged cuties of Rio took out the Ghostface killer of Scream 4. In fact, Rio grabbed the biggest opening of 2011 with $40 million. The film featuring the voices of Oscar nominees Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network) and Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) should see a nice long shelf life as it faces no strong family competition til Kung Fu Panda 2 comes out in late May…. Opening in second was the fun horror sequel Scream 4 which was on the low end of expectation with $19 million. It will be interesting to see if that film starring original cast members Courtney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell has the legs of its predecessors which all netted at least $90 million… The other new opener was Robert Redford’s historical drama The Conspirator starring James MacAvoy and an award-worthy Robin Wright which came in 9th with almost $4 million on only 700 screens… Holding up well in their second weekend were Soul Surfer and Hanna while Arthur tumbled and the stinking bomb Your Highness collapsed… Take a look at the brand new top ten below and for all your numbers needs, head to Box Office Mojo here.

TW	LW	Title (click to view)	Studio	Weekend Gross	% Change	Theater Count / Change		Average	Total Gross	Budget*	Week #
1	N	Rio	Fox	$40,000,000	-	3,826	-	$10,455	$40,000,000	$90	1
2	N	Scream 4	W/Dim.	$19,279,000	-	3,305	-	$5,833	$19,279,000	-	1
3	1	Hop	Uni.	$11,167,000	-47.6%	3,608	-8	$3,095	$82,609,000	$63	3
4	4	Soul Surfer	TriS	$7,400,000	-30.2%	2,214	-	$3,342	$19,997,000	$18	2
5	2	Hanna	Focus	$7,327,000	-40.8%	2,545	+10	$2,879	$23,327,000	$30	2
6	3	Arthur (2011)	WB	$6,940,000	-43.2%	3,276	-	$2,118	$22,348,000	$40	2
7	5	Insidious	FD	$6,857,000	-26.8%	2,233	-186	$3,071	$35,983,000	$1.5	3
8	7	Source Code	Sum.	$6,300,000	-27.2%	2,557	-414	$2,464	$36,990,000	$32	3
9	N	The Conspirator	RAtt.	$3,924,000	-	707	-	$5,550	$3,924,000	$25	1
10	6	Your Highness	Uni.	$3,895,000	-58.4%	2,772	+3	$1,405	$15,952,000	$49.9	2

The Conspirator~ 2011′s first Oscar contender?

Sure, this week was all about the Oscar nominations for last year’s best in film. But after seeing the trailer for the new film The Conspirator, I’m already thinking about next year’s awards. Could this new historical drama directed by Academy Award winner Robert Redford and starring Golden Globe nominees Robin Wright (Forrest Gump) and James MacAvoy (Atonement) and Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom, Michael Clayton) be the first award worthy film of this year? It certainly seems so. The movie follows the assassination of President Lincoln and the trial of Mary Surraut, the civilian woman, who is accused in the conspiracy of his murder. It’s got history, prestige, costumes, drama and fantastic performances, so I sure hope it delivers. I also hope it finally gives the woefully underrated and brilliantly talented Wright her first Oscar nod. She was denied noms for her great work in Gump, She’s So Lovely, Nine Lives and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee to name a few and it’s about time she was recognized. Now, fear not, if the Academy doesn’t warm to this film, Wright has three more contenders that could put her in next year’s supporting race: the ensemble drama Rampart, the baseball story Moneyball with Brad Pitt and the big American adaptation of The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo directed by Oscar nominee David Fincher (The Social Network). So, hopefully 2011 is Wright’s year. Take a look at the trailer for The Conspirator below and watch the film in theatres this April.

The Conspirator

Robin, Channing and Julia named among People’s 50 Most Beautiful!

It’s that time of year again… yes, the time when People Magazine names its list of the 50 most beautiful people in the world! Or more accurately, the 50 most beautiful people in the entertainment world! There are several of the usual suspects on the list again like Julia Roberts (the cover girl), Jake Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Aniston and J Lo, but there are also several new folks riding hot buzz that land in the issue. Among the first timers are Amanda Seyfried, Zoe Saldana, Robert Pattinson, Channing Tatum, Sofia Vergara, Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper. Tween singing sensation Justin Bieber also merited a mention somehow. I’m most excited that my favorite actress (after the glorious Meryl Streep) is included on the list, Miss Robin Wright. I’ve been a fan of this brilliant and stunningly never Oscar nominated actress going all the way back to her Emmy nominated role on the best soap in history, Santa Barbara. She’s been giving great and critically acclaimed performances for years in films like Forrest Gump (SAG & Golden Globe noms), The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, State of Play and She’s So Lovely (SAG nom). She may finally get in the Oscar race with this fall’s The Conspirator co-starring James MacAvoy and directed by Robert Redford. It tells the tale of Mary Surrat the only woman charged in the conspiracy to kill President Lincoln. Sounds like Awards bait to me… Check out the first set picture below and click here for more info on the film.

For more on People’s Most Beautiful and the full list, click here.

Robin Wright and James MacAvoy on set in The Conspirator