This weekend at the box office, Warner Bros. fantasy epic Sucker Punch was beat up by 20^th Century Fox’s family comedy Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. Wimpy Kid finished first for the weekend with Sucker Punch taking second place. While Wimpy Kid performed fine, Sucker Punch’s opening weekend is a bit of a disappointment. Holdovers from last weekend, Limitless from Relativity Media andLionsgate’s The Lincoln Lawyer performed very well in their second weekends, falling 20% and 17% respectively. 

Expect another tight battle for the #1 spot on the charts this weekend as Warner Bros. female-centric action flick Sucker Punch takes on family comedy sequel Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules from 20^th Century Fox. While both films are competing for completely different audiences, the opening potential for each film is pretty close. Will Wimpy Kid get sucker-punched this weekend? I think Sucker Punch might land the first blows on Friday, but like the tortoise that beats the hare, Wimpy Kid may be the one left standing by the end of the frame.

This weekend there was a five way race for first place at the box office with Relativity Media’s Limitless sneaking in front of the pack to claim victory. Paramount’s Rango stayed firm in second place for the second time in a row, while last weekend’s champ, Sony’s Battle: Los Angeles, came in third for the weekend. A pair of new films rounded at the top five;Lionsgate’s The Lincoln Lawyer took fourth while Universal’s alien-on-the-run comedy, Paul, came in fifth. 

This weekend a trio of new films enter the box office race to challenge last weekend’s champ, Sony’s Battle: Los Angeles. The new films are Relativity Media’s Limitless starring Bradley Cooper; Matthew McConaughey stars in The Lincoln Lawyer fromLionsgate and Universal’s alien on the run comedy, Paul  beams into theatres. It will be a tight race this weekend with each of the top 5 films expected to fall in a tight $10-$15 million range. Who will land on the top of the box office heap? It’s anyone’s guess this weekend.

The box office continued to hold steady this weekend as Sony’s Battle: Los Angeles opened fairly strong in first place. Red Riding Hood from Warner Bros. opened slightly lower than most industry expectations in third place while Disney’sanimated adventure film Mars Needs Moms tanked in fifth place. The box office should cool down this weekend with three new releases that should only perform moderately well. They are Limitless from Relativity Media, The Lincoln Lawyer from Lionsgate and comedy Paul from Universal. 

Just like last year, Johnny Depp swept in last weekend and invigorated the box office, starting the month of March with a solid foundation. Three new films open this weekend competing for your hard earned cash. While I don’t expect any of them to be huge hits, they should all perform well enough to keep the momentum going. The new film with the biggest potential is Columbia’s alien invasion flick Battle: Los Angeles starring an ensemble cast led by Aaron Eckhart. Just like last weekend’s Beastly from CBS Films, Warner Bros. Red Riding Hood gives a new spin to a classic fairy tale and should pull in a portion of the Twilight crowd. The finally new release for the weekend is Disney’s animated adventure Mars Needs Moms and it should perform moderately well this weekend.

The box office for March is off to a solid start with three out of four new releases this weekend performing well. Paramount’s Western themed animated film Rango opened in first place (as expected) and Matt Damon’s sci-fi tinged love story The Adjustment Bureau from Universal had a solid opening in second place. CBS Films modern telling of Beauty and the Beast, Beastly, opened stronger than expected in third place for the weekend and Relativity Media’s 80’s comedy Take Me Home Tonight was dead on arrival failing to make the top 10. 

After yet another weak box office weekend, four new films arrive in theatres to save the day. Two of these new films have hit potential while the other two will more than likely bomb. The films with potential are Paramount’s animated adventure film Rango starring Johnny Depp and Universal’s The Adjustment Bureau starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. The films that will more than likely not catch on this weekend are modern day beauty and the beast tale Beastly from CBS Films and 80’s flashback comedy Take Me Home Tonight from Relativity Media, both of which have had earlier release dates initially. 

The February box office ends with little fanfare as the final two releases for the month opened to miserable results. Warner Bros. comedy Hall Pass starring Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis opened in second place while Nicolas Cage’s latest action flick, Drive Angry from Summit Entertainment drove off a cliff and landed in ninth place for the weekend. Hopefully March will be a better month at the box office.

I am on vacation this week so this is going to be short and sweet. There are two new films opening, both of which have little chance of succeeding at the box office. First up is comedy Hall Pass from Warner Bros. starring Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis. The second new film for the weekend is Drive Angry (Summit Entertainment) starring Nicolas Cage and this one will likely be another big bomb for the actor.