For the second week in a row, Focus Features’ smart thriller Hanna overtook its nearest competitor and moved up the box office chart after final numbers were tallied Monday.
Hanna grossed $7.28 million over the weekend to come in No. 4, instead of No. 5, as estimated on Sunday, narrowly beating TriStar and FilmDistrict’s Soul Surfer, which grossed $7.26 million. Hanna has cumed $23.3 million in its first 10 days; Soul Surfer, $19.9 million.
Last week, Hanna beat Warner Bros.’ broad comedy Arthur at the 11th hour.
Focus says a combination of strong word-of-mouth and a diverse audience are fueling Hanna, directed by Joe Wright.
“Every Sunday, she sneaks up and beats somebody,” said Focus Features’ James Schamus. “With our wide releases, you get a very surprising word-of-mouth dynamic, because people are so passionate.”
Soul Surfer is no shrinking violet, either, and has overpeformed considering the competition in the marketplace. It’s worth noting that Soul Surfer and Hanna are anchored by young women.
Hanna, starring Saoirse Ronan, is about a young girl who was engineered and raised to be a lethal killer.
Soul Surfer, starring AnnaSophia Robb, is a biopic of surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm to a shark attack.
Topping the box office chart over the weekend was 20th Century Fox’s Rio, which did slightly less than the $40 million estimated on Sunday, or $39.2 million. The 3D toon, however, made up the difference overseas, where it came in ahead of estimates for the weekend, grossing $56.3 million.
Rio has grossed more than $171 million in its first 12 days of release at the worldwide box office.
