Russell Brand's rising star stumbled some this weekend as his take on Dudley Moore's lovable British drunkard Arthur missed the mark at the domestic box office this weekend,
The Warner Brothers comedy grossed well below pre-release estimates at $12.6 million, according to studio estimates.
The underperformance of the remake of 1981's "Arthur" left the door open for last weekend's box-office champ, Universal family film "Hop" – which features Brand's voice – to finish No. 1 with $21.7 million. ("Hop" declined only 42 percent weekend-to-weekend.)
Among four films opening widely, Focus' Joe Wright-directed thriller "Hanna" premiered solidly, beating forecasts with $12.6 million.
FilmDistrict's surfer-girl biopic "Soul Surfer," distributed by Sony, also exceeded expectations, grossing $11.1 million, while garnering an A-plus grade from word-of-mouth tracker Cinemascore.
Meanwhile, Universal continued on its tough slog at the box office; the James Franco/Natalie Portman comedy "Your Highness" missed tracking, finishing with just $9.5 million.
The overall box office was down just 6 percent this weekend compared to the same frame last year — one of the better year-to-year comparisons so far in 2011.
Here's how the top 10 finished. Analysis continues below chart:
Among the four wide openings, "Arthur" was the most anticipated, with Brand faced with the challenging task of channeling the late Moore's most enduring comedic performance.
It was a prime opportunity for the British superstar to demonstrate that he could establish himself with mainstream American audiences, and it did not work.
"It certainly was at the low end of our expectations," conceded Warner distribution president Dan Fellman.
The film garnered a middling B Cinemascore overall, with the studio reporting a budget cost of around $40 million — although marketing costs were robust.
As for Brand, he remains a bit of a box-office enigma Stateside, showing early signs of resonance with moviegoers — as his 2008 breakout supporting role in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" revealed — but little else since then (last year's "Get Him to the Greek" was only a modest hit, and "Hop" is just a voice role).
One thing at this weekend's box office seems certain, however: The stoner charm that James Franco exuded following 2008's "Pineapple Express" finally wore off during his poorly received co-hosting gig at February's Academy Awards.
Picked to gross over $12 million, his R-rated Universal comedy "Your Highness" couldn't even crack the $10 million mark.
The film cost just undrer $50 million to produce, according to the studio.
"We took a shot at a fresh idea, and we had great talent that really wanted to break out," said Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco, noting a supporting cast that also included "East Bound and Down's" Danny McBride. "I don't know what went wrong. But when it's all said in done, it didn't perform too far below our expectations."
Universal had expected an opening in the low teens.
The overall Cinemascore grade for "Your Highness" was a C-plus, suggesting there won't be a lot of return business next weekend.
Enjoying a better weekend, Sony's "Soul Surfer" stars AnnaSophia Robb as Bethany Hamilton, who as a 13-year-old, lost an arm in a shark attack, but went on to pursue a professional surfing career, anyway.
Sony and FilmDistrict marketed the film heavily to regions with ample Christian Church attendance — a strategy that seems to have paid off for the PG-rated film, which drew an audience that was 56 percent younger than 25 this weekend.
The film, which co-stars Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid and Carrie Underwood, is one of the new indie studio's first releases and cost only around $15 million to make.
"If we could hit $10 million, we figured it would be a home run for us," said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony. "Anything above that is outstanding."
For its part, Focus PG-13 thriller "Hanna" also played young, with 64 percent of patrons aged 35 or younger — standout data in a 2011 that has been short of youthful moviegoers.
The film, which has a negative cost of around $30 million, had been predicted to debut to under $10 million.
"Hanna" stars Saoirse Ronan as a youthful trained killer, alongside Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett, and represents a bit of a thematic departure for director Wright, who had previously made "Atonement" and "Pride and Prejudice" for Focus.
Among other openings, Warner 3D nature film "Born to Be Wild" debuted to $850,000 playing on 206 IMAX screens across North America.
Fox Searchlight's Paul Giamatti film "Win Win" continues to enjoy solid limited play, meanwhile, grossing $1.2 million at 226 locations. The film has grossed $3.5 million to date.
