Box Office Opening | featured news

Sources tell me that Friday's opening North American grosses for Imagine/Sony's Angels & Demons were at least $17 million Friday from 3,527 theaters. So the studio believes the weekend total can't be lower than $47M-$49M and still has a shot at the $50M Sony wanted. But rival studios predicting a $55M-$60M domestic weekend called the result "very disappointing".

Paramount Pictures had estimated that the movie would make about $50 million for the weekend, but figured that strong reviews helped carry it to the bigger opening.

The North American opening for Paramount's No. 1 Star Trek grosses Friday was $24 million from 3,849 theaters. So, adding in the $7M from Thursday 7 PM-Midnight screenings, the reimagined space odyssey has made $31 million so far. My studio insiders say the total weekend number now could easily reach $72M. "But it still has a shot at $75M if it gets any bump on Saturday," an exec explains. (Rival studios now think the Fri-Sat-Sun tally will only be $65M "because it's not expanding as the night goes on".) To put that in perspective, a domestic weekend total under $50M would have meant the pic didn't attract a new and younger audience and relied instead on the franchise's older but loyal fanbase of Trekkies. It was risky for Paramount to market the movie as "not your father's Star Trek". But the critical reviews for JJ Abrams' reboot are 96% positive.

Sources tell me that Fox's X-Men Origins: Wolverine had a stunning $35 million debut Friday thanks in part to heavy attendance at tonight's shows and the studio's widest release ever into 4,099 theaters. That includes the $5 million midnight shows at 2,000 venues.) Comparables include Iron Man, which made $39M its opening Friday, and Fast & Furious which earned $30.5M.

Audiences are in the mood for some fatal attraction action at the box office. Beyonce Knowles and Idris Elba's "Obsessed" debuted as the top weekend movie with $28.5 million in ticket sales. The Sony Screen Gems thriller stars Knowles and Elba as a couple whose ideal marriage lands on the rocks after a psychotic temp played by Ali Larter begins stalking the husband.

Zac Efron's body-switch comedy takes in $24.1 mil, easily outpacing''State of Play'' at box office.

Talk about a tired premise. It's difficult to imagine a more overworked plot device than the body swap. But stick a tween dream like Zac Efron in this drivel -- and suddenly the domestic box office dollars flow. So the New Line/Warner Bros' 17 Again opened to $10 million Friday from 3,255 theaters for No. 1 and a possible $28M weekend.

By Joshua Rich
The 3-D animated event won the weekend box office, as ''The Haunting in Connecticut'' exceeded expectations

"Monsters vs. Aliens" got off to a monstrous start on Friday, with an estimated $16.8 million in first-day domestic boxoffice.

Summit Entertainment's Nicolas Cage starrer "Knowing" easily topped the weekend box office chart in debuting to an estimated $24.8 million, while "I Love You, Man" and "Duplicity" came in on the lower end of expectations.