Saturday update:
Russell Brand is no Dudley … but his movie might be.
Warner's remake of the 1981 Moore film "Arthur" got out to a soft first day, grossing just $4.5 million Friday, according to studio estimates.
That put the comedy film, which stars Brand as the sloshed lead, on a $12 million pace for the weekend — well below pre-release estimates in the mid-to-high teens.
Universal family film "Hop" (which voice-stars Brand) appears set to win the box office for a second straight weekend, grossing $5.5 million Friday and pacing for another $20 million for the three-day weekend period.
Universal James Franco/Natalie Portman comedy "Your Highness" ($3.8 million), Sony surfer-girl biopic "Soul Surfer" ($3.6 million) and Focus' Joe Wright thriller "Hanna" ($4.1million) all had middling debuts.
Here's how the top 10 shaped up Friday:
1.) "Hop" ($5.5M)
2.) "Arthur" ($4.5M)
3.) "Your Highness" ($3.8M)
4.)"Hanna" ($4.1M)
5.) "Soul Surfer" ($3.6M)
6.) "Insidious" ($3.3M)
7.)"Source Code" ($2.8M)
8.)"Limitless" ($1.7M)
9.)"Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2" ($1.3M)
10.) "Lincoln Lawyer" ($1.2M)
Thursday preview:
Has Russell Brand truly transformed himself from British tabloid fodder to A-list comedic actor Stateside?
We'll certainly find out this weekend, when the 35-year-old actor takes on the lead role in Warner's remake of the iconic Dudley Moore movie "Arthur," which debuts in 3,276 theaters. The PG-13-rated comedy is expected to gross between $15 million – $17 million.
Also read: 'Arthur': Russell Brand Can't Match Dudley Moore's Puckish Charm
Brand is already on a bit of a hot streak, with his leading voice role as an animated bunny-rabbit in Universal's "Hop" predicted to once again win the box office with a second-week gross of well over $20 million.
Also debuting this weekend: Universal's James Franco/Natalie Portman R-rated period comedy "Your Highness," which is tracking to bring in between $11 million – $13 million; Sony surfer-girl biopic "Soul Surfer" ($11 million – $15 million); and Joe Wright action film "Hanna" (around $10 million).
The biggest story, however, is the remake of 1981's "Arthur," which has scored weak reviews from critics, evidenced by the 21 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes Thursday.
Among the movie's top demo, women over 25, "Arthur" is registering 79 percent total awareness, with 38 percent registering definite interest and 7 percent calling it their first choice, according to one tracking-firm report.
The film could be decently profitable, given its $40 million production budget. But like the middling "Get Him to the Greek" — which, last year, reprised Brand's Aldous Snow character from his breakout film, "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" — it probably won't define the Brit as one of America's foremost comic actors.
Priced in the same range and recording reviews that are almost as soft as "Arthur's" (28 percent), Universal's "Your Highness" will attempt to take advantage of the fact that it's the first R-rated comedy to be released into the market since "Hall Pass" debuted over a month ago.
"Your Highness" co-stars Mr. Kenny Powers himself, "Eastbound and Down's" Danny McBride, and is registering 68 percent total awareness among men older than 25 with 36 percent definite interest and a 9 percent "first choice" coefficient.
Point of curiosity: will star Franco's ill-fated Oscar-hosting performance in February hurt his leading-man prowess?
"I think everyone just looks at him as being very, very talented," said one Universal executive.
For its part, "Soul Surfer" stars AnnaSophia Robb as real-life pro surfer Bethany Hamilton, who survived a shark attack with only one arm intact, but still managed to resume her career.
Shot for only around $15 million, the film has been heavily promoted to Christian audiences, according to an individual familiar with the movie's marketing, and could surpass pre-releae estimates of around $11 million.
"Soul Surfer," which co-stars Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Carrie Underwood and Craig T. Nelson, has received largely soft reviews (39 percent fresh, according to Rotten Tomatoes).
The PG-rated "Soul Surfer" is set for release in 2,214 theaters in the U.S. and Canada and is registering 75 percent total awareness among its female-under-25 target demo, with 50 percent definite interest and solid 16 percent first-choice reporting.
"Hanna," meanwhile, represents the third collaboration between Focus and Wright, after the filmmaker and specialty unit previously paired on the critically and commercially successful "Pride and Prejudice" and "Atonenment."
Scoring a solid 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Hanna" stars Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan, the latter playing a young paternally trained assassin (think "Kick Ass," only serious).
The PG-13-rated movie is debuting in 2,535 theaters and comes in with a negative cost of around $30 million. (Focus sold most of the foreign distribution rights to Sony and claims to be not-very-exposed on the film.)
"Hanna" is registering 66 percent total awareness among men 25 and older, according to one tracking firm, with 35 percent definite interest and 9 percent first choice.
Other notable box office entries this weekend: Pantelion, the new Lionsgate Latino label, will debut romantic comedy "No Eres Tu, So Yo" in 226 theaters located in the top 20 U.S. Hispanic markets; and IMAX will premiere Warner Bros. 3D nature film "Born to Be Wild" on more than 225 screens this weekend.