Like any holiday that sees families congregating together and then desperately seeking activities where they don't have to talk to each other for two hours, this Easter weekend saw a strong bump at the box office thanks to a few new contenders and a handful of holdovers with some surprising staying power.

FilmWeekendPer Screen
1G.I. Joe: Retaliation$41,200,000$11,078$51,707,000
2The Croods$26,500,000 (-39.3)$6,519$88,618,000
3Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor$22,300,000$10,894$22,300,000
4Olympus Has Fallen$14,000,000 (-53.9)$4,507$54,743,000
5Oz the Great and Powerful$11,605,000 (-46.2)
$3,491$198,278,000
6The Host$11,002,000$3,436$11,002,000
7The Call$4,800,000 (-46.1)$1,968$39,480,000
8Admission$3,253,000 (-47.1)$1,505$11,759,000
9Spring Breakers$2,758,000 (-43.2)$2,000$10,100,000
10The Incredible Burt Wonderstone$1,300,000 (-69.9)$825$20,580,000

 

Most of the talk about this weekend's box office will be about 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' and rightfully so: with $41 million banked over the weekend, an additional $10 million from its weekday release and another $80 million worldwide, the film is a genuine hit. More importantly, audiences seem to really like it (which can't be said for every movie with a strong opening this month), so it should have plenty of staying power in the coming weeks. It'll certainly dominate the young male crowd until 'Oblivion' hits in a few weeks.

Right below it, 'The Croods' proved incredibly resilient in its second week, grossing $26 million for an $88 million total. It's simple math: you release an animated children's film in a slow patch right before a major family holiday and watch the big bucks roll in. $180 million is looking likely, maybe $200 million if the winds are right.

In third place, 'Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor' did usual Tyler Perry business, racking up $22 million. Say what you want about Mr. Perry (he's either an overlooked genius, a hack or an unintentionally hilarious auteur), but he has his audience and they're nothing if not loyal. He's going to keep releasing a movie or two a year until he's dead.

And now we come to the fourth place, which showcases what happens when audiences don't actually like a movie they crowned box office champion the week before. 'Olympus Has Fallen' took a nasty drop to $14 million for a $54 million total, which isn't disastrous (yet), but it makes $100 million look like a pipe dream. The film didn't cost too much ($70 million, apparently) so it should be able to break even. It just won't be pretty.

Meanwhile, fifth place is home to 'Oz the Great and Powerful,' which continues to perform week after week. When you toss that $11 million for the weekend into the pot, you get a current gross of $198 million. $250 million looks like a reasonable goal right now. Not bad. Not bad at all.

The weekend's third and final new release faltered into sixth place, but can you blame audiences? Did anyone really want to see 'The Host'? Nah. Although this is an official 'Twilight' knock-off, it ultimately did the business of most 'Twilight' knock-offs. Nothing more to see here.

As for the rest...

'The Call' is about to pas $40 million, making it a minor hit, but 'Admission' will have an uphill battle getting to $20 million. With $10 million banked, the ultra-cheap 'Spring Breakers' is just having a laugh at this point and 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone' is about to vanish from cinemas and re-emerge as that movie you always pick past in DVD bargain bins.

Next week will see the 3D re-release of 'Jurassic Park' go head-to-head with the remake of 'Evil Dead.' Expect both to do quite well.

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