RIO rules the movie box office

Went the Celebration Cinema Saturday night and saw Rio.  It was wonderful.  Well written for both kids and adults.  It was fun in

3-D, too.

I wondered how it did at the box office and found out that once again, an animated movie found itself ruling the weekend box office.

In this case, it was 'Rio.' The high-flying kids' movie, which features the voice talent of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg and more, pulled in an estimated $40 million, making it the year's best opening thus far.

Coming in at a distant second was the much-anticipated 'Scream 4,' which opened with an underwhelming $19.3 million. That number is especially disappointing, considering 'Scream 3' grossed $34.7 million in its opening weekend 11 years ago.

In third place was last week's number-one movie, 'Hop,' with $11.2 million. 'Hop' marks one of two movies starring Russell Brand now in theaters. His other movie, 'Arthur,' dipped to sixth place this week, earning just $6.94 million.

Rounding out the top five were 'Soul Surfer,' with $7.4 million, and 'Hanna,' with a steady $7.3 million.

This weekend's other new release, the Robert Redford indie drama 'The Conspirator,' came in ninth place, with $3.9 million on just 707 screens.

[EW.com]