The 3D family film “Turbo” received an “A” CinemaScore and debuted to $5.6 million at the box office Wednesday.
That puts it on pace for a five-day total of around $35 million, low for a DreamWorks Animation release but in line with the projections of analysts and Fox, which is distributing. The last DWA release, "The Croods," opened to $43 million in March and has taken in $582 million worldwide.
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The good grade from first-night audiences should help word of mouth on the $135 million original tale of a racing snail, which is facing tough competition. Rival family film “Despicable Me 2” has led the box office the past two weeks, and “Monsters University” is still in the market.
It’s a crowded weekend in general, with three other wide openers debuting Friday: Warner Bros. and New Line’s horror film “The Conjuring,” Summit’s Bruce Willis-Helen Mirren action comedy “Red 2” and Universal’s supernatural action tale “R.I.P.D.,” with Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges.
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Analysts give “The Conjuring” an edge on the field, based on strong pre-release social media activity. It was the leading seller at online movie ticket broker Fandango as of Thursday morning, too.
Universal’s minions sequel was second at $5.6 million Wednesday and Sony’s Adam Sandler ran third with $4.3 million.