Its' going to be another up weekend at the box office, as films will benefit over the four-day weekend...
Following its' huge debut last weekend, The Vow is looking to be the years' first film to have the top spot two weeks in a row. Dropping 52% to an estimated $7.4 million, that was a good hold for a film that was generally poorly recieved by critics. Based on recent trajectories, the film is headed for a $23 million three-day and a $28.5 million 4-day.
Debuting in second, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance will likely be a disappointment. The Nicolas Cage superhero sequel earned an estimated $7 million on Friday, and couldn't ride off the negative buzz created by the first film. That number was also less than half of the original's $15 million Friday. With a discouraging "C+" CinemaScore, the film will likely gross just $20 million for the three-day, and about $25 million for the four-day, where it could drop as low as fourth place by Monday.
Holding steady in third, Safe House dropped 53% to an estimated $6.5 million on Friday. That's not bad considering it had a lot of competition against it. Look for the film to earn about $21 million for the three-day and around $26 million for the four-day.
Debuting in fourth place, romance action comedy This Means War got off to a decent start with an estimated $5.6 million. That was in line with expectations, and it got good audience reception, with an "A-" CinemaScore grade. With all those factors in mind, look for a $16 million three-day and a $20 million four-day, where it will likely drop to the fifth spot.
Rounding out the Top 5 on Friday was Journey 2: The Mysterious Island which dropped 33% to an estimated $4.5 million. The action sequel is performing similarly to last years' Gnomeo and Juliet, which had $4.25 million on its' second Friday, on its' way to $25.3 million for the four-day. With encouraging word-of-mouth, look for the sequel to challenge Safe House for second place with around $20 million for the three-day and perhaps $26 million for the four-day.
In other holdover news, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (3D) is turning out to be very front-loaded, with a 79% cascade to an estimated $1.9 million on Friday, coming in eighth place, in what should be a $7 million 3-day and $10 million 4-day.
The other new release, The Secret World of Arrietty, started off in ninth place on Friday with an estimated $1.7 million. As hard as this may be to believe, that was actually a good number considering the amount of competition and how well it will fare over the four-day weekend. Right now, based on recent trajectories, the film is looking for a $6.5 million 3-day, and perhaps $8.5 million for the 4-day.
Studio weekend estimates to be posted tomorrow afternoon...
