While there were several new movies opening in the US this week, only one pulled ahead of holdovers Rango and Battle: Los Angeles in the box office stakes. The Bradley Cooper starring Limitless didn’t quite live up to its name, but it did top the chart by taking a better than expected $19 million dollars in its first weekend.
The other major openers, Paul and The Lincoln Lawyer, had to settle for fourth and fifth spots on the chart, with estimates putting the former at $13.1 million and the latter at $13.4, although it won’t be known which film really made more cash until final figures are released on Monday. Although some had hoped Paul would be a surprise breakout hit, it’s pretty much in line with most analyst’s expectations for the Pegg/Frost movie.
Sadly for Disney, Mars Needs Moms continued to tank. While it dropped just 25% from last weekend, it only took another $5 million, for a running US total of $15 million. With a $150 million budget, the film is likely to end up one of the biggest box office disasters ever. It’s also adding to worries some are having in the movie industry about the lack of young people at cinemas over the last couple of months.
Although Rango has done well, most films have been skewing far older than normal, with even Paul generally attracting those over 25. As Hollywood is reyling on young people to go to cinemas en masse in order to make their big summer tentpole flicks into hits, many at the studios are hoping the under 25s will return to the cinemas soon before the massive flicks start getting released in the next few months.
Take a look below for the top 10 movies at the US box office for the weekend of March 18th-20th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Limitless | $19.0 | $19.0 |
| 2 | Rango | $15.3 | $95.5 |
| 3 | Battle: Los Angeles | $14.6 | $60.6 |
| 4 | The Lincoln Lawyer | $13.4 | $13.4 |
| 5 | Paul | $13.1 | $13.1 |
| 6 | Red Riding Hood | $7.2 | $25.9 |
| 7 | The Adjustment Bureau | $5.9 | $48.7 |
| 8 | Mars Needs Moms | $5.3 | $15.4 |
| 9 | Beastly | $3.2 | $22.2 |
| 10 | Hall Pass | $2.6 | $39.5 |