Remember how box office watchers were counting on this weekend to become 2011’s very first big winner?  A frame whose combined grosses would finally top 2010’s?  With two high profile releases – Rio and Scream 4 – that seemed a reasonable conclusion and it still appears doable.  Unfortunately, Friday’s estimates suggest that it will not be the unqualified rout we expected considering that last April’s strongest contender was Kick-Ass.  Fox is reporting a $10.2 million opening for Rio from 3,826 locations (well over half of those in 3D).  That is not much above the $9.6 million debut of the year’s top opener Rango, which had no 3D price boost in its favor.  Projections originally put Rio above Rango’s weekend total but it now appears that the toon will end up well below that $38.1 figure.  Meanwhile Scream 4, which many believed would win Friday, pulled in an estimated $8.3 million from 3,305 locations.  That puts the sequel on track for a $22 million weekend – well below even the most conservative early projections.  Finally, three films are statistically tied for fourth place with Soul Surfer, Hanna and Arthur all estimated in the $2.1 million range for Friday while The Conspirator debuted at number ten with $1.7 million.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

Universal’s Hop has just earned 2011’s highest debut weekend – if today’s estimate of $38.1 million from 3,579 locations proves accurate. For now the three-day estimate for the live-action/CGI-animated comedy stands less than one million ahead of Rango’s record from five weeks back.

As expected, Universal’s Hop was Friday’s number one film with an estimated $11.4 million from 3,579 locations.  The live action/CGI-animated comedy was heavily promoted as hailing from the team behind last year’s Despicable Me and, though it ultimately fell short of that film’s $21.3 million first Friday, Hop has a shot at passing Rango to claim the biggest first weekend of 2011 if its projected three day take of $38 million proves accurate.  Summit Entertainment’s Source Code placed second with an estimated $5 million from 2,961 locations, which would indicate a weekend figure in the mid-teens.  In other words, not quite as strong as recent releases like Limitless in the sci-fi genre. Fellow newbie Insidious came in at number three on Friday with $4.8 million from 2,408 locations.  Weekend projections for the supernatural horror flick are between $10 and $15 million but, as FilmDirect’s follow-up to Paranormal Activity, the ultra low-budget Insidious is already counting its profits.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

Ouch.  Though it seemed likely after Friday’s figures were announced, the fact that Fox’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules so easily topped the flashier Sucker Punch has still got to hurt the folks at Warners this morning.

After pulling ahead of the pack on the traffic jam that was this Friday’s box office, Relativity’s Limitless stayed on top with an estimated $19 million from its 2,756 locations.  Fellow newcomers Paul and The Lincoln Lawyer had more modest starts, making this one more in 2011’s long line of down weekends.

The weekend played out pretty much as expected after Friday’s estimates, except for one factor (and I know this is a shocker): final weekend tallies ended up on the low end of projections across the board.  We are still dealing with box office totals that are down over 10% from 2010 but, compared to the 45% we were down last weekend, that’s progress!

The 2011 box office isn’t out of its slump quite yet, but at least it’s starting to make an effort.  On Friday Sony’s PG-13 Battle: Los Angeles debuted to an estimated $13.5 million from 3,417 locations.  That puts the alien invasion pic on track for a weekend above $35 million – right about where Rango finished last Sunday.  The latter lizard landed in third this Friday but could leap back to second when weekend numbers are released.  Warner Brothers’ Red Riding Hood claimed the second spot but will have to do much better than its $5.7 million debut to reach the high teens many were predicting for the film’s weekend.  Finally, Disney has a real problem with Mars Needs Moms.  The last of the creepy toons to come out of Robert Zemeckis’ IMD brand, the $150 million Moms made just $1.7 million on Friday and will be lucky to see $10 million by Sunday.  Full details and analysis tomorrow.

Paramount did not quite reach the $50 million they were hoping for with their PG toon Rango.  With an estimated $38 million from its 3,917 locations, however, the 2D animated feature did manage to top The Green Hornet to become the biggest debut of 2011 so far.

See that?  All the box office needed to shake off the stagnant was Johnny Depp!  Debuting on the same weekend the actor owned with Alice in Wonderland in 2010, the animated western Rango is on track to have the biggest debut of the year.  The PG flick from director Gore Verbinski brought in an estimated $9.5 million on Friday from 3,917 locations and appears headed for a three day total above $40 million – and that’s without a 3D price boost.  If Paramount is pleased with their Rango debut, Universal is probably just as pleased with the debut of The Adjustment Bureau.  The Matt Damon-led sci-fi thriller opened to $6.7 million from 2,840 locations.  Expect a three-day total above $20 million, or a few million more than the studio was hoping for just a two days ago.  Alex Pettyfer is back this week in CBS Films’ Beastly.  The modern fairytale took in $3.5 million on Friday and should finish the weekend just below $10 million – right about where the studio was expecting. Full details and box office analysis tomorrow.

Opening today is Rango, Industrial Light and Magic’s first fully animated film. Written by John Logan, directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin and a slew of famed character actors, the film tells the story of Rango (Depp), a pet lizard lost in the desert who lies his way into becoming the sheriff of a western town. Things go well as he uses luck, gumption, and improvisational skills to fake his way through the job, but when someone steals the town’s water supply, Rango is forced to become a real hero.

As part of our weeklong coverage of the film we have a one on one interview with Abigail Breslin, one of Hollywood’s most talented child actors. During our interview, we talked about her friend’s reactions to her co-starring with Depp, the film’s use of “emo-tion capture,” some of her favorite films, and get a very short update on her upcoming film Innocence.  Hit the jump for the video:

As a general rule, animated films are family films.  The cost of animation is simply too high for a studio to invest in anything other than the lowest-common denominator fare.  It’s rare that any studio other than Pixar will craft an animated feature that not only appeals to kids, but has the wits and edginess that will also charm adults.  Rango is one of those rarities.  Director Gore Verbinski skillfully blends the broad slapstick of animated creatures having goofy adventures with smart movie references, gorgeous visuals, and impressive animation.

Opening Friday is Rango, Industrial Light and Magic’s first fully animated film. Written by John Logan, directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin and a slew of famed character actors, the film tells the story of Rango (Depp), a pet lizard lost in the desert who lies his way into becoming the sheriff of a western town. Things go well as he uses luck, gumption, and improvisational skills to fake his way through the job, but when someone steals the town’s water supply, Rango is forced to become a real hero.

As part of our weeklong coverage of the film I was able to sit down with director Gore Verbinski to talk about how he was able to get such a unique movie made, what draws him to a story, the popularity of shaky-cam and “post-action” and gives us a preview of the DVD extras.  Hit the jump to watch:

Opening Friday is Rango, Industrial Light and Magic’s first fully animated film. Written by John Logan, directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin and a slew of famed character actors, the film tells the story of Rango (Depp), a pet lizard lost in the desert who lies his way into becoming the sheriff of a western town. Things go well as he uses luck, gumption, and improvisational skills to fake his way through the job, but when someone steals the town’s water supply, Rango is forced to become a real hero.

Continuing our weeklong coverage of the film (here’s our exclusive interview with Depp), we have a one on one interview with the beautiful and funny Isla Fisher. We talked about how she handles voice acting in contrast to live action work, the unique filming style of Rango, stress on set and much more.  Hit the jump to watch:

Paramount has released a three-minute clip from the upcoming animated film Rango.  The clip doesn’t do a great job of highlighting the film’s clever and goofy humor and instead relies more on slapstick, a chase sequence that works better on a big screen than your computer’s monitor, and a bathroom joke.  I caught the movie last weekend and it’s a lot of fun and this clip doesn’t really do it justice.

Hit the jump to check out the clip, but don’t be put off if it doesn’t do anything for you.  Rango features the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, and Bill Nighy.  It opens March 4th.

Opening March 4^th is Rango, Industrial Light and Magic’s first fully animated film. Written by John Logan, directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin and a slew of famed character actors, the film tells the story of Rango (Depp), a pet lizard lost in the desert who lies his way into becoming the sheriff of a western town. Things go well as he uses luck, gumption, and improvisational skills to fake his way through the job, but when someone steals the town’s water supply, Rango is forced to become a real hero.

I was lucky enough to sit down with the film’s principal cast and Verbinski to discuss the film. We’ll have an interview every day this week, beginning tonight with Johnny Depp. We talked about his selectivity in animated projects, the existential origins of the film, the gonzo influences, and what’s up with The Rum Diaries and Dark Shadows. Hit the jump to watch: