‘Hanna’ knocks out ‘Arthur’ as No. 1 ticket seller among new releases

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After a weak opening weekend at the box office, ‘Arthur’ has been dealt another blow -- by a teenage assassin.

Now that the final ticket sales have been counted, it turns out that ‘Hanna,’ an action film starring Saoirse Ronan, actually beat out the remake of the 1981 comedy and was the weekend’s top ticket seller among the new debuts. ‘Hanna’ collected $12.4 million over the weekend, slightly edging out ‘Arthur’s’ tally of $12.2 million. On Sunday, Warner Bros. projected that its comedy starring Russell Brand in the role made famous by the late Dudley Moore would end up with $12.6 million, while Focus Features estimated ‘Hanna’s’ gross as $12.3 million.

According to market research firm CinemaScore, ‘Hanna’ received only an average C-plus grade from movie-goers, while ‘Arthur’ earned a B. But despite its weak grade and word-of-mouth, ‘Hanna’s’ business only dropped 37% from Saturday to Sunday, when it grossed $3.2 million. ‘Arthur,’ meanwhile, fell 46% over the same two-day period and came in with $2.7 million on Sunday.

Of course, the overall winner for the second consecutive weekend was Universal Pictures’ family comedy release ‘Hop,’ which dropped 43% and ended up with $21.3 million.

--Amy Kaufman

[Update, 2:13 p.m.: This post was updated with ‘Hop’s’ final weekend box office tally.]