


"Get Hard" united the fans of Hart and Ferrell, albeit while finding some criticism for its racial humor. And "Home" is the rare animated film led by an African-American girl protagonist (voiced by Rihanna). She plays a teenage girl left alone after an alien invasion of Earth. Jim Parsons, Jennifer Lopez and Steve Martin round out the cast.

"It's a diverse cast and we drew a diverse audience, which I think is really special and something you don't see in animated films," said Chris Aronson, domestic distribution head for 20th Century Fox, the film's distributor. "That just ends up broadening the appeal of the film."

Minorities made up more than half of the audience for "Home," according to Fox. The strong performance of an original release, based on a children's book by Adam Rex, provides Jeffrey Katzenberg's DreamWorks with a welcome lift. After a series of box-office disappointments, the studio cut about 500 jobs earlier this year.

Aronson called the success of "Home" "indicative of the direction, quality-wise, that DreamWorks is going to get back to." One of the film's producers, Mireille Soria, was in January named co-president of DreamWorks Animation, along with "How to Train Your Dragon" producer Bonnie Arnold.

Despite the lure of March Madness on TV screens, "Home" (which capitalized on the relative dearth of family-friendly options) and "Get Hard" drove moviegoers to theaters. Overall, the box office was up about 8 percent from last year, according to box-office data firm Rentrak.

"Get Hard" had been dogged by controversy, as some questioned the tastefulness of humor that critics called homophobic and racist. The directorial debut of Etan Cohen, it stars Ferrell as a hedge fund manager sentenced to a maximum security prison for fraud. To prepare for life in prison, he turns to the only black person in his orbit, a family man played by Hart.

"When Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart get together, you hope to have some criticism," said Dan Fellman, head of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. He added that it's the biggest R-rated opening for both Hart and Ferrell.


1. "Home," $54 million ($24 million international).

2. "

Get Hard," $34.6 million ($4.6 million international).

3. "

The Divergent Series: Insurgent," $22.1 million ($29.9 million international).

4. "

Cinderella," $17.5 million ($38.7 million international).

5. "

It Follows," $4 million.

6. "

Kingsman: The Secret Service," $3.1 million ($25 million international).

7. "

Run All Night," $2.2 million ($2.1 million international).

8. "

Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," $2.2 million ($2.3 million international).

9. "

Do You Believe?" $2.2 million.

10. "

The Gunman," $2 million