Hop dropped 44% from last weekend but is still the weekend’s #1 performer. Hanna performed decently but how will Joe and Jane Popcorn respond to its arty fantasia chops later this week and next weekend? Your Highness and Arthur are the weekend’s big shortfallers with Soul Surfer doing only so-so.

Hop did $5.5 million yesterday at 3616 situations, and will finish Sunday night with an estimated $21 million.

Boxoffice.com’s Phil Contrino is estimating that Arthur will earn $12.7 million for the weekend. It did $4.5 million yesterday in 2276 theatres. That’s definitely low with weekend estimates forecasting $15 to $17 million.

Hanna is third, off to a reasonably good start with a projected $12.2 million for weekend on 2535 screens or situations. The difference between Arthur and Hanna is that the latter is a really good film — very assured, high style, an art thriller. Contrino claims it’s “one or two action scenes shy of satisfying a bigger crowd…I just don’t see Joe and Jane going for it all that strongly.”

Soul Surfer did $3.65 million on 2214 screens, and is expected to bring in just over $10 million by weekend’s end.

Your Highness came in fifth, earning $3.8 million in 2769 situations with $10.5 million due by by Sunday night. You’d think that a film with Danny McBride, Natalie Portman and James Franco would have done better. Universal has a yen for 18-to-34 fanboys — this, Paul, Scott Pilgrim. Except fanboy audiences are limited (especially when the movie sucks) and only take the box-office so far.