Saturday Update:
Universal's "Robin Hood" shot straight in terms of meeting its pre-release tracking Friday, opening to $13.1 million at the domestic box office and getting off to a pace that will give it about $37 million for its premiere weekend, according to studio estimates.
Universal is also projecting international grosses of around $76 million for "Hood," giving the film -- which the studio says was produced for $155 million -- what should be a first-weekend global gross of more than $110 million.
Overall, the domestic box office is pacing to be about flat with the same weekend last year, which saw the release of Sony's "Da Vinci Code" follow-up "Angels and Demons."
In its second weekend, Marvel's superhero sequel "Iron Man 2" eked by Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott's "Hood" to take the top spot at the box office on Friday, grossing $14.9 million but dropping a whopping 71 percent week to week.
The sequel is projected to pull in $49.9 million in 4,390 locations. That will put the film over the $200 million mark domestically.
In it's second week of release in 2008, "Iron Man" had only netted $177 million domestically. However, if these number hold, the original "Iron Man will have actually had a stronger follow up weekend than its sequel, grossing $51 million and slipping a mere 48 percent.
Sliding in at number three is Summit's "Letters to Juliet" with $5 million, on pace for $14.5 million for the weekend. The mid-budget Summit romantic drama played in 1,680 locations. Like "Made of Honor" and "What Happens in Vegas," female-centric films that opened in May against blockbusters, "Juliet" successfully positioned itself as an alternative to the big budget tentpoles. The relatively strong opening comes on the heels of Seyfried's similarly themed "Dear John," which took in $80 million this spring.
The weekend's third wide release, Fox Searchlight's Queen Latifah vehicle "Just Wright," grossed $2.8 million at 1,831 theaters, putting it on pace for an $8 million weekend, which will also meet tracking.
Here's your top ten list for Friday:
1.) "Iron Man 2" ($14.9 million)
2.) "Robin Hood" ($13 million)
3.) "Letter's to Juliet" ($5 million)
4.) "Just Wright" ($2.8 million)
5.) "Nightmare on Elm Street" ($1.6 million)
6.) "Date Night" ($1.2 million)
7.)"How to Train Your Dragon" ($1.2 million)
8.)"The Back-Up Plan" ($774,000)
9.)"Furry Vengence" ($526,000)
10.)"Clash of the Titans" ($338,000)
Thursday Preview:
He robs from the rich and gives to the poor.
In other words -- so Universal hopes -- he takes market share from “Iron Man 2.”
The studio will open its PG-13-rated period-adventure “Robin Hood” in 3,503 theaters in the U.S. and Canada Friday – and more than 10,000 locations globally – with studio officials optimistic about a domestic opening in the $35 million-$40 million range.
Indeed, tracking is solid for the Brian Grazer-produced, Ridley Scott-directed film, which stars Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett -- even though reviews (and chatter from its Cannes premiere) have been mixed.
