It looks like a good news/bad news kind of morning for Russell Brand.  The good news is that his voice-only role in last weekend’s number one film Hop will give Brand a second weekend on top of the US box office.  The bad news?  Warner Brothers’ highly-promoted Arthur redux – the film in which he actually gets his face on film – wasn’t particularly aided by the comedian’s recent PR blitz.  The widest of this weekend’s four new releases, Arthur earned an estimated $4.5 million to Hop’s $5.5 million.  Arthur's mediocre showing was counterbalanced by two Friday overachievers.  Focus features’ Hanna took in an estimated $4.2 million while Sony’s inspirational shark-attack biopic Soul Surfer earned $3.7 million in 2,214 locations.  That just leaves us with Universal’s Your Highness.  How this R-rated comedy from David Gordon Green and Danny McBride wound up nearly tied on a Friday night with a movie about a one-armed surfer is beyond me.  Details and analysis tomorrow.

Title

Friday

Total

1

Hop

$5,500,000

$51.9

2

Arthur

$4,500,000

$4.5

3

Hanna

$4,200,000

$4.2

4

Your Highness

$3,800,000

$3.8

5

Soul Surfer

$3,700,000

$3.7