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Audiences have not yet tired of paying 30% more to see a mediocre movie in three dimensions, but if last night's box office estimates are to be believed the novelty is fading fast. Dreamworks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon opened with $12.2 million from 4,055 theatres and seems destined for a weekend in the $45 million range. That's significantly under the $40 million Alice in Wonderland opened with on a Friday three weeks back and is even under the $14 million Martin Scorsese's dimensionally-challenged Shutter Island opened to in February. Considering the big theatre count and the higher prices, this is a disappointment for Dreamworks. And speaking of disappointments, it looks like MGM can't count on Hot Tub Time Machine to pull them out of their death spiral. The comedy debuted with $4.5 million on Friday and is now expected to come in at around $14 million for the weekend. Full three day details when you check back tomorrow.

Title

Friday

Total

1

How to Train Your Dragon

$12,200,000

$12.2

2

Alice in Wonderland

$4,700,000

$280.5

3

Hot Tub Time Machine

$4,500,000

$4.5

4

The Bounty Hunter

$4,000,000

$30.4

5

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

$2,900,000

$28.6