MILEY CYRUS, MOVIE STAR

Miley Cyrus’ transition from the Disney Channel to the cineplex got a significant boost over the weekend as Hannah Montana: The Movie ran away with the box-office competition. The debuting movie sold $34 million in tickets over the three-day Easter weekend, topping even Walt Disney Co.'s expectations.

That tally tops the opening weekend of Cyrus’ first starrer, 2008’s Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, which opened to $31.1 million. By comparison, established stars Julia Roberts (Duplicity) and Jodie Foster (Nim’s Island) both had $13 million opening weekends.

Hannah Montana drew $17.3 million on Friday, making it the biggest opening day ever for a G-rated, live-action movie.

The news inspired Cyrus to tweet: "omgomg! my fans rock! the movie is doing great you guys! omg AND its all cause of you!!!! I LOVE U ALL! IF YOU HAVENT SEEN IT YET CHECK IT!”

For the uninitiated, the 16-year-old Cyrus plays a schoolgirl by day and a pop star by night in her Disney Channel sitcom. The plot for the film is triggered by Dad Billy Ray Cyrus, who takes Miley on a surprise trip to her Tennessee home in an effort to get the teenager back to her small-town roots. The premise has speculators (including our own I.B. Bad) speculating that the film is part of an overall career strategy to reposition the young star as a country 2.0 artist along the lines of Taylor Swift.

Vin Diesel's Fast & Furious was #2 with $28.7 million in its second week, followed by Monsters vs. Aliens with $22.6 million.

Box-office revenue year-to-date is up 17% while attendance is up 15%, indicating that not all traditional forms of entertainment are in decline.

“Outside of animated product, people never used to think we could do this well in the first three-plus months of the year,” Universal Studios marketing head Adam Fogelson told the L.A. Times.