Updated 9:18 a.m. PT Saturday
The real Navy SEALs of Relativity's shoot-'em-up "Act of Valor" are doing some real damage to the competition at this weekend's box office: The R-rated action film took an estimated $9 million Friday and is on track to gross nearly $26 million for the weekend.
"Tyler Perry's Good Deeds," from Lionsgate, took about $5.4 million, and is looking at a weekend just short of $15 million -- about $2 million below pre-release expectations, but still good enough to make it the No. 2 movie in North America.
The weekend's other two new movies, Universal's "Wanderlust" and Summit's 'Gone," are seriously underperforming. "Wanderlust," which received an unimpressive "B-" score from the audience polling firm Cinemascore, only took $2.2 million on Friday. It is expected to take around $6.2 million over the weekend.
Also read: Tyler Perry’s Good Intentions Outweigh His ‘Good Deeds’
"Gone," which got a "C+" Cinemascore, managed only around $1.7 million on Friday and is looking at a $4.5 million weekend.
"Act of Valor" and "Good Deeds" each got "A" Cinemascores.
"Act of Valor" will be the lone movie to break $20 million this weekend. Last weekend, three movies -- "Safe House," "The Vow" and "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" cracked $20 million over three days. Over last week's four-day Presidents Day weekend, five films exceeded $20 million.
There are some strong holds though.
New Line's Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" continues to slog away, taking $3.2 million on Friday. It is on track to be No. 3 at the domestic box office with $13.5 million in its third week of release.
Likewise, Universal's "Safe House" and Sony's "The Vow" continue to draw audiences. "The Vow" brought in about $3.3 million Friday, and "Safe House" took $3.1 million. "The Vow" has now grossed nearly $96.3 million and will become the first Screen Gems release to exceed $100 million at the box office.
Earlier:
"Act of Valor," an action movie starring actual Navy SEALs, is poised to be the top movie at the box office this weekend.
Relativity Media says it expects to debut its adrenaline-fueled film -- the SEALs used live ammunition in some of the battle scenes -- to between $15 million and $17 million.
Less conservative box-office watchers outside the studio say the number is more likely to be around $23 million.
Also read: "Act of Valor" a Perfect Navy SEALS Recruitment Actioner -- But Not Much More
"Act of Valor" is almost certain to post the best opening of the four movies debuting this weekend. But the Oscar weekend looks to be considerably less lucrative than last week's four-day President's Day frame when five films topped the $20 million mark.
Among this week's other new entries, "Tyler Perry's Good Deeds," from Lionsgate, is expected to take in around $17 million. Summit's "Gone" and Universal's "Wanderlust" are hoping to break into double-digits.
Interestingly, "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" could well take third place for the weekend.
