娱乐英语新闻:Easter Bunny hops atop box office derby

LOS ANGELES, April 3 (Xinhua) -- A Universal and Illumination follow-up to "Despicable Me" made its debut in North American box office this Friday ahead of the rest of the field, while two other new releases finished in the second and third spots respectively.

"Hop," a live-action animated comedy about a next-generation Easter Bunny who leaves Easter Island for Hollywood to become a famous drummer, is on track to gross 38.1 million dollars in ticket receipts, or 10 million dollars more than what many predicted to bring in. As the first 3D/CG family film made under a new collaboration by Universal and Christopher Meledandri's Illumination Entertainment, the film is expected to be the best weekend opening for any film this year, the North America box office authority said. This film is well received by young audiences and won an "A-minus" grade from moviegoer survey film Cinemascore.

Worldwide, the film also grossed a seven million dollar opening simultaneously in 26 foreign markets.

Opening in the second spot is "Source Code," a Summit thriller with 15 million dollars. The smart action-thriller is director Duncan Jones' second production since "Moon" (2009) and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays a soldier who defies space and time to nab a bomber. "Insidious," an indie horror film by newcomer Film District, is Number Three with 13.5 million dollars take.

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" was in the fourth place for Fox, with 10.2 million dollars. "Limitless" from Relativity Media was fifth with 9.4 million dollars.

Rounding out the top 10 most popular films in the North America box office are:

-- No.6: "The Lincoln Lawyer," 7 million dollars;

-- No.7: "Sucker Punch," 6 million dollars;

-- No.8: "Rango," 4.6 million dollars;

-- No.9: "Paul," 4.3 million dollars, and

-- No. 10: "Battle: Los Angeles," 3.5 million dollars.