This year's spate of spring flicks are sputtering onto the screen, adding to 2011's trail of blown budgets and slipping ticket sales. Three new entries made their bid at the box office this weekend, but only one showed signs of bucking the trend.
Battle: Los Angeles banked the highest opening Friday sales year-to-date and earned the second highest opening weekend of the year so far, coming in right behind last weekend's numero uno Rango. With $36 million the explosion-packed alien invasion CG feast is well on its way to recovering a relatively economical $70 million budget.
Coming in a distant third place was Red Riding Hood with $14 million. Not bad for an undermarketed dramatic thriller and far better than the third new comer.
Moms? No, Mars needs money. In the face of a $150 million budget second string Disney/Buena Vista animated feature Mars Needs Mom tanked hard, earning only $6.8 million for a painful fifth place. It's the first contender this year for biggest box office flop.
For the full box office top ten list check out the chart below:
| Battle: Los Angeles * | $36,000,000 | Total: $36,000,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 3,417 |
| Rango | $23,050,000 | Total: $68,653,000 | LW: 1 WR: 2 THTRS: 3,923 |
| Red Riding Hood * | $14,135,000 | Total: $14,135,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 3,030 |
| The Adjustment Bureau | $11,459,000 | Total: $38,451,000 | LW: 2 WR: 2 THTRS: 2,847 |
| Mars Needs Moms * | $6,800,000 | Total: $6,800,000 | LW: N WR: 1 THTRS: 3,117 |
| Hall Pass | $5,105,000 | Total: $34,936,000 | LW: 4 WR: 3 THTRS: 2,555 |
| Beastly | $5,090,000 | Total: $16,980,000 | LW: 3 WR: 2 THTRS: 1,959 |
| Just Go With It | $4,000,000 | Total: $93,982,000 | LW: 7 WR: 5 THTRS: 2,398 |
| The King's Speech | $3,625,000 | Total: $129,062,000 | LW: 8 WR: 16 THTRS: 1,768 |
| Gnomeo and Juliet | $3,546,000 | Total: $89,031,000 | LW: 5 WR: 5 THTRS: 2,585 |
