Easter Bunny hops atop box office derby

LOS ANGELES, April 3 (Xinhua) -- A Universal and Illumination follow-up to "Despicable Me" made its debut¹ 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 animated² comedy about a next-generation Easter Bunny who leaves Easter Island for Hollywood to become a famous drummer(鼓手), 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 collaboration³ 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 simultaneously⁴ in 26 foreign markets.

 

Opening in the second spot is "Source Code," a Summit thriller⁵ 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 bomber⁶. "Insidious," an indie horror film by newcomer Film District, is Number Three with 13.5 million dollars take.

 

"Diary of a Wimpy⁷ 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.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

2 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

3 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

4 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

5 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

6 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

7 wimpy   

adj.懦弱的，无用的，哭哭啼啼的

参考例句：

• I'd rather have a wimpy kid than a dead one, you know? 你知道么？我宁可要一个懦弱的孩子，也不想要一个死的。 来自互联网
• I hate wimpy drinker. 我讨厌酒量差的人。 来自互联网