Hannah Montana The Movie debuted to great business on Good Friday, making an estimated $17.4 million on approximately 4,200 screens at 3,118 theaters. The Disney Channel adaptation edged out High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which opened to $17 million, and it blew past the first days of Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour and The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Due to the holiday and its eager fan base, Hannah Montana's weekend is likely to be highly front-loaded and is on track to nearly $40 million, based on the past performances of similar titles.
Fast and Furious slowed 65 percent to an estimated $10.6 million, and, buoyed by the holiday, its drop was slightly less than the previous two entries in the street-racing franchise. In eight days, its total stands at $99.8 million, and its second weekend is headed for close to $30 million at its current pace.
In third, Monsters Vs. Aliens had a three percent uptick from last Friday, grossing a holiday-enhanced estimated $9.1 million for $127.5 million in 15 days. The computer-animated comedy should reach around $22.5 million for its third weekend, when factoring past Easter weekends.
Debuting in fourth place, Observe and Report was far less potent than actor Seth Rogen's previous vehicles, Pineapple Express and Knocked Up, and it's poised for a first weekend on par with his last movie, Zack and Miri Make a Porno. On Friday, the dark comedy bagged an estimated $4.8 million on around 3,000 screens at 2,727 theaters, or less than half the opening day gross of the last mall cop comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Its first weekend is on course to nearly $11 million.
The three pictures below Observe and Report on the Friday chart, Knowing, The Haunting in Connecticut and I Love You, Man, were huddled in the $2.3 to $2.4 million range, and it was business as usual for each.
