It’s already looking like a pretty impressive weekend and for the second weekend in a row the number one spot is up for grabs. The Vow has the early lead and all expectation is that it will take home the top spot, but Universal’s Safe House came out of the gates strong and impressed audiences on the way.
The Vow opened on Friday with $15.3 million putting it well on the way to a $40 million weekend and right behind it with $13.8 million is Safe House, the R-rated counter-programming featuring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. Considering we’re looking at the weekend before Valentine’s Day all expectation would be for The Vow to carry its Friday win to a three-day win, but as The Hollywood Reporter points out, an A- CinemaScore for Safe House compared to a B for The Vow opens the potential for word-of-mouth to give Safe House a Saturday and Sunday boost.
Things are interesting in the third and fourth slot as well with the 3-D conversion and re-release of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace bringing in $8.6 million on Friday and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island taking in $6.5 million.
I imagine this race will tighten up a bit as well with Star Wars being a little more front-loaded due to eager fans and families coming out on the weekend for Journey, which earned an A- CinemaScore from Friday audiences. Both could be looking at anywhere from $20-24 million for the weekend.
I will be back on Sunday with a complete weekend wrap-up, but for now check out the Friday top ten below.
- The Vow – $15.3 million
- Safe House – $13.8 million
- Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (3-D) – $8.6 million
- Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – $6.5 million
- Chronicle – $3.5 million
- The Woman in Black – $3.4 million
- The Grey – $1.4 million
- The Descendants – $880,000
- Underworld Awakening – $675,000
- Red Tails – $640,000
