Updated Saturday, 7:10 a.m. PT
Fanboys delivered Relativity's "Immortals" a strong $15 million box office Friday, and the movie is on track to pull in nearly $36 million for the weekend, studio estimates show.
Relativity had predicted an opening of only around $25 million, and most predictions outside the studio were also well below $30 million.
The swords-and-sandals epic opened to $1.4 million at midnight showings Thursday.
Sony's "Jack and Jill" is on track to meet the studio's low expectations, grossing just short of $10 million on Friday. The Adam Sandler comedy won't have the $30 million weekend the star is used to. Estimates have it at $23.7 million for the weekend.
"Puss in Boots" is enjoying a good third weekend, with an estimated $8.8 million Friday. That should put the DreamWorks Animation movie in second place, at $25 million for the weekend. If its pace holds up, "Puss in Boots" will have declined only around 25 percent from its opening weekend two weeks ago.
Universal's "Tower Heist" is in fourth place in its second weekend of release. Brett Ratner's adventure comedy starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy took in just short of $5 million on Friday and is looking at a $13.8 million weekend.
"J. Edgar," meanwhile, is looking at a soft, fifth-place opening. The Warner Bros. biopic about former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover took in about $4.25 million on Friday, estimates show. It is on track to gross a touch more than $11 million for the weekend.
Earlier:
Two of the three movies opening wide this weekend are targeted at a key film-going demographic that has been staying away from the movies lately: Young men.
Relativity's R-rated, 3D epic "Immortals" and Sony's latest Adam Sandler comedy "Jack and Jill" could both use help this weekend from males under 25 as they enter wide domestic distribution with tepid pre-release tracking.
Warner's "J. Edgar," an R-rated biopic focused on former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, is also going wide Friday, while Lars von Trier's "Melancholia" is set for a limited debut.
With domestic movie-ticket revenue down 3.5 percent over last year, much of the blame is being laid at the feet of moviegoers 24 and younger. They accounted for 60 percent of domestic box office attendance in 1975 but dwindled to just 32 percent of attendees by 2010, according to a recent survey (see chart below).
And the more dramatic drop is among young males, a studio distribution executive told TheWrap Thursday.
Young men, the executive said, "are toast. They're so away it's not even funny ... You know what they're all doing right now? They're all playing 'Modern Warfare 3.' I'm sorry, that's what they're doing ... It's just a fact of life."
Also read: Review: No, Zeus, 'The Immortals' Isn't Supposed to Be a Comedy in Leather
Against this backdrop, Relativity is hoping its $75 million after tax rebates swords-and-sandals action film can crack a middling $25 million on its opening weekend.
