Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Think Like a Man’ Topples ‘The Hunger Games’

After a month of domination, 'The Hunger Games' has finally been displaced from the number one position on the box office top ten. Considering its theme of the little guy taking on the establishment and emerging victorious despite the odds, it's appropriate that it wasn't a major Hollywood blockbuster that snatched that spot. Show us someone who predicted that 'Think Like a Man' would win the weekend and we'll show you a certified box office predicting master. Or a liar. One of the two.

1. Think Like a Man: $33,000,000 ($33,000,000)

2. The Lucky One: $22,805,000 ($22,805,000)

3. The Hunger Games: $14,500,000 ($356,900,000)

4. Chimpanzee: $10,205,000 ($10,205,000)

5. The Three Stooges $9,200,000 ($$29,355,000)

6. The Cabin in the Woods: $7,750,000 ($26,980,000)

7. American Reunion: $5,200,000 ($48,300,000)

8. Titanic 3D: $5,000,000 ($52,828,000)

9. 21 Jump Street: $4,600,000 ($127,066,000)

10. Mirror Mirror: $4,114,000 ($44,206,000)

The victory for 'Think Like a Man' isn't just a matter of where it stands on the list: it's a matter of the money involved. $33 million is a big opening for any modestly budgeted film, but for a film that was seemingly flying under the radar, it's a huge victory. Of course, "flying under the radar" is just internet movie writer code for "white people didn't know about it." Time and time again, movies made by black filmmakers and starring black casts make a splash at the box office (check out the continually successful career of Tyler Perry) and every time, it comes a big surprise for both the internet and the studios. Of  course, this never spurs the production of more films by black filmmakers with black casts, mainly because that would involve the people with budgetary funds learning that there are audiences out there who aren't thirteen year old white boys.

This week also showcased the power of another often-neglected audience: 'The Lucky One' opened to just over $22 million and you can bet that those theaters were full of women. After all, America's population of thirteen year old white boys were too busy saving their dimes for 'The Avengers' to bother to see a Nicholas Sparks adaptation starring Zac Efron. Both 'The Lucky One' and 'Think Like a Man' have essentially already made their money back. Expect the former to top out around $70 million and the latter around $60 million. Not exactly numbers that'll set the world on fire, but numbers that will keep everyone involved happy and working.

'The Hunger Games' dipped down to the number three spot with $14 million for the week, a pretty terrific take for a film that's been out for over a month. That officially takes the film past the $350 million mark. And that's that. Are we really going to talk about the box office take of 'The Hunger Games' for the fifth week in a row? We'll check back in when it hits $400 million sometime in May.

As for other new releases, the Tim Allen-narrated, ape-centric nature documentary 'Chimpanzee' did Tim Allen-narrated, ape-centric nature documentary numbers. $10 million is perfectly fine and totally expected -- not every one these things is going to be 'March of the Penguins.' Outside of the top ten, the critically acclaimed documentary 'Marley' took proper advantage of a Friday that happened to land on an April 20th, opening in 42 theaters and grossing a solid $260,000.

The rest of the top ten isn't quite a wasteland, but nothing particularly exciting is going on either. 'The Three Stooges' took a pretty steep dive down to $9 million and 'The Cabin in the Woods' continued to not blow any accountant's socks off with $7 million. Neither of them are necessarily flops (the former didn't cost too much and the latter already has a dedicated fanbase and a strong future on DVD), but it's nothing to get worked up over.

Both 'American Reunion' and 'Titanic 3D' took in roughly $5 million and both are currently hovering around the $50 million mark, but one of them is a new release and the other is a re-release of a film that made hundreds of millions of dollars fifteen years ago. You can guess which of those $50 million grosses is stronger. Rounding out the top ten are '21 Jump Street' and 'Mirror Mirror' with about $4 million apiece. Both of them are just about ready to slide out of the top ten, the former a big hit and the latter a non-disaster.

Next week finds a slew of new releases hitting theaters. The biggest of them is probably 'The Pirates! Band of Misfits,' but as critically acclaimed as Aardman Animation films are, they have been inconsistent at the American box office. The other big releases include 'The Five Year Engagement' (a possible sleeper hit if it finds the right audience), 'Safe' (it'll do typical Jason Statham numbers before filling up a $5 bin a your local Wal-Mart) and 'The Raven' (which is being quietly released under a not-so-secret veil of shame).