Tops at the Box Office: Thor smashes; The Beaver crashes

1. Thor- $66M
Marvel didn't need Thor to best last week's open for Fast Five for the film to be a success, which is a good thing because it didn't come close. Still, they have to be looking at this as a thunderous debut and a momentum boost leading into Captain America: The First Avenger. Thor opened at $66M, $20M less than Fast Five last week, and about $11M better than The Incredible Hulk did a couple of years ago. But when compared to Iron Man 2, things start to get a bit dicey. Thor was aided by a wealth of 3D and IMAX screens which helped bolster the final tally. Now the question becomes what the future holds for the rest of the Marvel line, specifically Captain America and The Avengers.
2. Fast Five- $32.5M/$140M
Well on it's way to being the highest grossing F&F film of the bunch, the latest skidded to a 62% drop in audience, losing most of it's IMAX theaters to Thor. 

3. Jumping the Broom- $13.7M
Some places are trying to compare the numbers for this low key rom-com to that of the much higher profile Something Borrowed, but it's lazy analysis at best. For sure, $13.7M is fairly average for the genre, but the difference is that Broom opened at 1,000 theaters less than Borrowed. And the marketing campaign? Mostly word of mouth, spread from people who attended one of the numerous advances screenings for the faith-based crowed. At a modest $7M budget, all involved must be happy with the end result.
4. Something Borrowed- $13.2M
On the other hand, Something Borrowed featured genre favorite Kate Hudson and The Office's John Krasinski. It also had a marketing campaign that basically told you just how bland and cookie-cutter the film would be. 
5. Rio- $8.2M/$115M
6. Water for Elephants- $5.6M/$41.6M
7. Madea's Big Happy Family- $3.9M/$46.8M
8. Prom- $2.42M/$7.8M
9. Soul Surfer- $2.1M/$36.7M
10. Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil- $1.88M/$6.71M

* In limited release, The Beaver struggled to stir audiences. Whether it had anything to do with Mel Gibson's piss poor reputation, or the confusing marketing plan, it opened at 22 theaters and tallied only $104K. The film is due to expand to more theaters in two weeks, where maybe mostly positive word of mouth will give the film a kick start.