Thanks to two strong new releases, this weekend's box office will be up substantially from last year for the first time in nearly two months and September is ending on a high note...Sony can brag that they have the top two movies in theaters right now...
Despite having somewhat low expectations, Hotel Transylvania is turning into a box office monster. The 3D animated spookfest tallied a strong estimated $11 million on Friday. That was way higher than what analysts were expecting (they were projecting a three-day opening in the low-to-mid 20's millions). In terms of recent animated films, it earned more than what Rango and Rio earned on their opening days ($9 million and $10 million, on their way to $38 and $39 million weekends). It also beat Sony Pictures Animation's previous fully-animated flick, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ($8.1 million on its' way to $30 million debut), however, including all of the studios' films, Transylvania's opening day ranks second to The Smurfs ($13.8 million on its' way to $36 million opening). Audiences enjoyed the film, giving it an "A-" CinemaScore, while critics gave it mixed reviews. In terms of recent trajectories, Transylvania should top out at $40 million for the weekend, the biggest September opening ever, ahead of Sweet Home Alabama's $35.6 million start.
Also getting off to a solid start on Friday was Looper, which earned an estimated $6.9 million. The critically-acclaimed R-rated sci-fi action pic earned a "B+" CinemaScore, and will likely finish the weekend with $20 million, a strong number considering the genre usually being a tough sell.
Third place once again was a close race, with End of Watch dropping 48% to an estimated $2.4 million. House at the End of the Street and Trouble with the Curve were close behind with $2.3 million apiece, with House dropping 50% from last weekend and Curve dropping 42% from last Friday. Expect Watch to come in third place with $8 million, followed closely by Curve and House.
Way further on the list, inspirational drama Won't Back Down didn't do good at all. The inspirational drama only earned an estimated $920,000 on Friday from 2,515 theaters, one of the worst starts ever for a very wide release. With good word-of-mouth from audiences, expect just $3 million for the weekend.
Faring much better was the limited start of Perfect Pitch, as the musical comedy earned a huge estimated $1.7 million from just 338 theaters. Expect around $5 million for the weekend, and good word-of-mouth heading into its' nationwide expansion next weekend.
As I have said before, the Friday reports will only be on seasonal occasions, such as when a movie (i.e. Hotel Transylvania) earns more than $10 million on Friday, or when its' an extended weekend (such as Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, or Labor Day)...
