‘Rio’ Soars at the Box Office

“Rio” tops the box office this weekend as the 3D animated film earned up to $40 million, according to an estimate from distributor 20th Century Fox.
Rio, which stars feathered friends (with voices of Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway) setting on a Brazilian adventure in Rio de Janeiro, posted the best opening numbers so far, this year.
The family-friendly film Rio’s broad audience helped boost the movie’s sales, with its target market split 50-50 between older and younger viewers. The movie was given an average grade of A, according to market research firm CinemaScore.
“When people see something good in the marketplace, it gets them in the moviegoing habit,” said Bert Livingston, general sales manager for 20th Century Fox.
“This movie has a lot of heart. [Even] adults see ‘Rio‘ and think, ‘Are you kidding me? Did I really just tear up at a cartoon?,” Livingston added.
The movie gained some family business from its competition, ‘Hop,’ also an animated film that had been No. 1 for the past two weekends.
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