Playing in just over 2,500 theaters, horror fans ushered in Scott Derrickson’s Sinister with $7.4 million and an opening day #1 result on a $3 million budget. Both Taken 2 (3,706 theaters) and Argo (3,232 theaters) are playing in more theaters and were unable to keep up with the critically well-received horror on Friday.
Of course, with Taken 2 and Argo bringing in $7 million and $5.9 million respectively, Sinister won’t be enjoying an overall weekend win. That will likely go to Taken 2 for a second weekend in a row, ending somewhere around $21-22 million with Sinister and Argo competing for second around $18-19 million.
Sinister‘s Friday #1, however, does come with one sour note, a “C+” Cinemascore compared to the “B+” Taken 2 received last weekend and the massive “A+” Argo was given by opening day moviegoers.
A few notches down the ladder, at #5, you find fellow newcomer this weekend in the new Kevin James comedy Here Comes the Boom, opening with $3.6 million and, get this, an “A” Cinemascore. While the $12 million or so it will probably end up with this weekend isn’t too impressive, it could be around for a while.
Finally, in ninth and tenth positions are Seven Psychopaths and Atlas Shrugged: Part II with $1.3 million and $692,000 respectively. Neither had an overwhelming amount of theaters, but that Atlas Shrugged result is… not good.
I have included the estimated Friday top ten directly below and will be back on Sunday with a complete weekend wrap-up.
- Sinister – $7.4 million
- Taken 2 – $7 million
- Argo – $5.9 million
- Hotel Transylvania – $4.2 million
- Here Comes the Boom – $3.6 million
- Pitch Perfect – $3.0 million
- Looper – $1.9 million
- Frankenweenie – $1.7 million
- Seven Psychopaths – $1.3 million
- Atlas Shrugged: Part II – $692,000
