'Hop' jumps to top at box office

The Easter bunny has hopped into the top spot at the weekend box office.

Russell Brand's family comedy "Hop" debuted at No. 1 with $38.1 million, The Associated Press reports.

With Brand providing the voice of the reluctant new Easter bunny, "Hop" placed well beyond the expectations of industry analysts, who had figured the movie would debut in the $25-million range.

Released by Universal, "Hop" matched the year's best debut, "Rango," the Johnny Depp animated Western, which opened a month ago with $38.1 million.

Jake Gyllenhaal's action thriller "Source Code" debuted at No. 2 with $15.1 million. The haunted-house tale "Insidious" opened at No. 3 with $13.5 million.

Despite a slow market, "Hop" might be able to leg it out for a while at theaters, with Easter still three weeks away. A combination of live-action and computer animation, the movie has Brand's runaway bunny finding refuge with a grown-up slacker (James Marsden).

"When was there ever a really, truly Easter movie like this, about the Easter bunny that was kid friendly?" said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "I don't see why it wouldn't play out up to and including that little Easter Monday."