Saturday update:
The mash-up of big-budget 3D movies continued to grab all the attention at the domestic box office Friday, with Warner's epic remake "The Clash of the Titans" grossing $26.3 million, according to studio estimates, putting it on pace for a $60 million three-day haul, the low side of its pre-release projections.
Back in the earthly realm of 2D, however, "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too" from Lionsgate quietly put together the most surprising opening of the weekend, grossing $12.3 million. The film, shot at a budget just above $20 million, is on pace to enjoy one of Perry's best openings, with a $30 million-plus haul expected over the three-day weekend.
One other film opening wide this weekend, Disney's "The Last Song" starring Miley Cyrus -- which actually opened on Wednesday -- grossed $7 million on Friday. It's on pace to finish its first five days in theaters with $25.8 million.
Amid an overall domestic box office that was up 23 percent year to year, according to one studio's estimate, DreamWorks Animation's 3D "How to Train Your Dragon" took in $11 million in its second Friday of release, only a 9 percent drop for a film with great reviews and an "A" grade from word-of-mouth tracker CinemaScore.
While "Dragon" kept all or most of its screens after "Titans" crashed the 3D market, Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" lost most of its 3D exhibition, retreating to about 600 3D-equipped theaters. Still, the Tim Burton-directed film grossed $3 million in its fifth Friday of release, which was only a 39 percent week-to-week drop.
As for "Titans," a $60 million weekend -- which would included about $4.2 million worth of Thursday-night receipts -- would represent the low side of pre-release expectations. Despite poor reviews, the film had been tracking big with males.
It was produced and converted to 3D at a cost of around $125 million, with Legendary Pictures co-financing the project
More impressive was the bow of Perry's "Married Too," which -- with the help of a co-starring effort from Janet Jackson -- is in line to become the prolific producers second biggest opening ever behind last year's "Madea Goest to Jail" ($41 million).
Here's how the top 10 at the domestic box office looked Friday:
“Clash of the Titans” ($26.3m)
“Why Did I Get Married Too” ($12.3m)
“How to Train Your Dragon” ($11.0m)
“The Last Song” ($7.1m)
“Alice in Wonderland” ($3.0m)
“Hot Tub Time Machine” ($2.9m)
“The Bounty Hunter” ($2.4m)
“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” ($2.4m)
“She's Out of My League” ($556,000)
“Shutter Island” ($536,000)
Warner Bros. opened its epic remake “Clash of the Titans” to an estimated $4.2 million Thursday, with the film starting out on mostly 2D screens at 3,004 theaters.
The movie, co-financed by Legendary Films and produced and converted to 3D at a cost of about $125 million, will formally debut in 3D Friday at 1,810 locations, 3,777 total.
“Titans” is expected to gross as much as $80 million this weekend, although Warner's pre-release estimates are much more conservative than that.
