Friday Box Office, Relativity Media | featured news

In a boost for Relativity Media's new marketing and distribution operation, Bradley Cooper starrer Limitless opened to No. 1 at the Friday box office, grossing an estimated $6.6 million from 2,756 theaters. After that, it was a tight race between the two other new movies, the Matthew McConaughy legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer and Universal's sci-fi comedy Paul, and two holdovers, Battle: Los Angeles and sleeper hit Rango.

Screen Gems is back in good form with thriller The Roommate, which easily beat Universal/Relativity’s 3D Sanctum at the Friday box office in grossing an estimated $6.4 million from 2,534 screens. Sanctum, executive produced by James Cameron, grossed an estimated $3.6 million from 2,787 runs, including more than 2,000 3D runs. The Australian adventure-thriller also is playing in 178 Imax theaters.

Relativity Media’s Season of the Witch opened to an estimated $3.7 million from 2,816 theaters at the Friday box office to place No. 3 behind Paramount’s True Grit -- which all but jumped the $100 million mark -- and Universal’s Little Fockers.