Weekend Report: 'Captain America' Wins Close Fight with 'Rio 2'
In a strange turn of events, Rio 2 took first place at the box office on Friday, but fell back to second place for the three-day weekend. Chalk this up to nice weather throughout most of the country, which kept family audiences away from the multiplexes on Saturday.

As a result, Captain America: The Winter Soldier was able to narrowly hold on to the top spot for the second-straight weekend. The superhero sequel added $41.3 million, which was off 57 percent from its debut. That's about on par with Iron Man 3 (58 percent) and Thor: The Dark World (57 percent), but it's also a bit worse than the movie's strong reviews and word-of-mouth would suggest.

So far, Captain America: The Winter Soldier has earned $158.9 million at the domestic box office. If it remains on pace with the Thor and Iron Man sequels, it will finish with at least $225 million.

Playing at 3,948 locations, Rio 2 wasn't far behind with $39.3 million. That's essentially identical to the first Rio's $39.2 million debut around the same time in 2011. Among recent animated movies, it's noticeably higher than Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 ($34 million) and Mr. Peabody & Sherman ($32.2 million).

The first Rio was well-liked, and Rio 2's marketing promised more of the same broad humor. It also changed the setting—though the Amazon rainforest is arguably less interesting than Rio de Janiero—and added a few new characters voiced by Kristen Chenoweth, Andy Garcia and Bruno Mars. The movie also had a scheduling advantage, as Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Muppets Most Wanted are essentially played out at this point.

According to distributor 20th Century Fox, the audience was 57 percent female. Only 31 percent of ticket sales were in 3D, which is consistent with the recent track record for family movies.

Moviegoers awarded Rio 2 a strong "A" CinemaScore. With the Easter holiday coming up—and without any serious family competition for a long, long time—Rio 2 should hold well. It's possible that it eventually matches the first movie's $143.6 million total.

As expected, Oculus and Draft Day both opened modestly. The supernatural horror movie took third place with $12 million. That's roughly on par with Insidious ($13.3 million) and Mirrors ($11.2 million). It's not a fantastic start, but it is good enough for a low-budget festival acquisition.

Oculus benefited from a solidly creepy, targeted marketing effort, and from above-average reviews. It also helped that it was the first supernatural horror movie in nearly three months.

According to Relativity Media, the audience was 51 percent female and 52 percent under the age of 25. The movie received a poor "C" CinemaScore, though that hasn't been a strong indicator of long-term performance for horror movies. Still, with direct competition from The Quiet Ones in two weeks, it would be surprising if this cracked $30 million.

Draft Day took fourth place with $9.8 million, which is roughly half of Moneyball's $19.5 million debut. It's also a bit lower than star Kevin Costner's recent action movie 3 Days to Kill ($12.2 million), and April 2008 football movie Leatherheads ($12.7 million).

Draft Day received a "B+" CinemaScore. With an audience that skews older, it should play well in the next few weeks; a total close to $30 million is likely.

In its third weekend, Noah once again took a dive at the domestic box office. Darren Aronofsky's Biblical epic plummeted 56 percent to $7.55 million, which brings its 17-day total to $85 million. If it continues on this trajectory, it could fall short of $100 million.

Divergent dropped 43 percent to $7.4 million (down 42 percent). So far, the young-adult adaptation has grossed a very good $124.8 million.

Indonesian action movie The Raid 2 expanded to 954 locations and earned a weak $956,672 million. In comparison, the first Raid grossed $961,454 from 881 theaters in its nationwide expansion. Essentially, demand for this franchise hasn't really changed in the past two years.

Around-the-World Roundup

Rio 2 expanded to 61 international markets and earned $61.4 million this weekend. Its biggest new market was China, where it grossed $12.1 million (more than double its predecessor). It was also strong in Mexico ($8.7 million) and France ($4.6 million).

Across the board, Rio 2 is opening much higher than the first Rio, which suggests it may be able to top that movie's $341 million total. So far, Rio 2 has grossed $124.3 million.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier added $60.6 million. Its only major new territory was Brazil, where it took first place with $5.9 million. Captain's biggest market so far is China, where it's already earned a remarkable $80.4 million (more than the next three markets combined).

To date, Captain America has grossed $317.7 million overseas, which is more than any of the first five Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Worldwide, it blew past Captain America: The First Avenger, and has so far earned nearly $477 million. It reaches its final market, Japan, next weekend.

Playing in 53 markets, Noah cruised to $36.2 million this weekend. It opened to $3.9 million in France and $3.7 million in Italy. To date, the movie has earned $162 million overseas.

Divergent expanded in to a handful of major markets and grossed $23.2 million. It performed solidly in France ($3.4 million), Russia ($3.1 million), Australia ($3.1 million) and Germany ($1.8 million). It has $50.3 million in the bank so far, and still has South Korea, Brazil, Spain and Japan on the way.

This weekend, Frozen passed Skyfall to move up to eighth place on the all-time worldwide chart with $1.11 billion. It's now held first place for five-straight weeks in Japan, which is now its top market with an incredible $89 million.

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Forecast:

'Rio 2,' 'Captain America' Could Both Reach $40 Million This Weekend


Last Weekend

With Big 'Avengers' Bump, 'Captain America' Sets April Record


This Weekend in Past Years:

• 2013 - '42' Called Up to Box Office Big Leagues


• 2012 - Four-in-a-Row for 'The Hunger Games'

• 2011 - 'Rio' Leads, 'Scream' Bleeds

• 2010 - 'Titans' Fall But Still Tall

• 2009 - 'Hannah Montana' Rules Easter Roost

• 2008 - 'Prom Night' Tears Into Top Spot

• 2007 - 'Disturbia' Lives at Top Spot

• 2006 - 'Scary Movie 4' Cracks Easter Record

• 2005 - 'Horror' Takes $23M Toll on Tax Weekend

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Weekend Box Office Results

• 2014 Yearly Box Office

• All-Time Domestic