娱乐英语新闻:"Rio" dominates North America box office for two weekends in a row

LOS ANGELES, April 24 (Xinhua) -- "Rio," an animated comedy featuring voices by Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway and George Lopez, continued to show its dominant power atop the North America box office this weekend, grossing an estimated 26.8 million dollars from movie theaters in Canada and the United States to edge out Tyler Perry's latest movie.

The Blue Sky Animation film, which has a strong staying power due to its spell with kids and their parents, remained atop the box office list, the North America box office authority said on Sunday. The 20th Century Fox-distributed film is expected to make more progress as many schools have been on vacation through the Easter holiday, and young audiences will swarm into theaters for this well-received release.

"Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family," the third Madea- titled movie and the 11th film in the Tyler Perry film franchise, opened in second place, and is on track to turn 25.8 million dollars in sales for Lionsgate at 2,288 locations. Based on one of Perry's many stage plays, the film centers on the fractured and troubled nuclear-family relationships of Shirley's three adult children.

Compared with Perry's last film, "For Colored Girls," the latest product is ill-received by a number of film critics. "' Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family' may inspire some to think whether Perry should put Madea to rest," Wilson Morales from BlackFilm.com said. "The characters presented are degrading to women and an embarrassment to Perry's followers."

Opening in third place is "Water For Elephants," a 20th Century Fox drama based on an acclaimed number-one bestselling book, with a 17.5-million-dollar take at 2,817 locations. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson and Christoph Christoph Waltz, the film has received mostly lukewarm reviews, with consensus being that the characters lack chemistry but the landscape is engaging.

This is the second time Pattinson and Witherspoon have co- starred together as they had filmed a deleted scene from 2004's " Vanity Fair" in which he was her estranged son.

Thanks to its holiday theme, "Hop," an animated feature about an Easter Bunny, jumped by 16 percent over last week and is on track for a 12.5-million-dollar holiday weekend, and a 100.5- million-dollar month.

Slasher film "Scream 4" is in fifth place, with a 7.2-million- dollar weekend.

A documentary made a rare appearance in the top 10, as Disney's "African Cats" opened in sixth place with 6.4 million dollars in sales at 1,220 locations. The film follows two families on the Kenyan plains: one lion that is struggling to stave off invasion from its enemies, and one fierce cheetah mother that is determined to raise her cubs alone.

Rounding out the top 10 movies this weekend are: "Soul Surfer" (5.6 million dollars), "Insidious" (5.4 million dollars), "Hanna" (5.3 million dollars) and "Source Code" (5 million dollars).