Families were apparently hungry for seconds as the Sony Pictures Animation sequel “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2” ruled the Friday night box office and will easily be the No. 1 movie this weekend.
With little competition on the family film front, the sequel picked up $9.3 million on Friday and is likely to earn just under $40 million for the weekend. This will put it well ahead of the first “Cloudy,” which opened with a strong $30.3 million on its way to a worldwide total of $245.8 million in 2009.
Ron Howard’s “Rush” raced to the No. 2 spot in its first week of wide release after playing in just New York and L.A. last weekend. The Formula One period drama picked up $3.7 million, bringing its domestic total to $3.9 million.
“Prisoners,” starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, captured $3.3 million. The crime drama’s domestic take stands at $31 million.
Both “Rush” and “Prisoners” will likely earn around $11 million for the weekend.
Meanwhile, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s low-budget directorial debut,”Don Jon,” is off to a good start. The sex comedy opened in fourth with $3.2 million.
Fellow newcomer “Baggage Claim” also claimed $3.2 million, and could easily pull past “Don Jon” for the No. 4 spot this weekend. It stars Paula Patton, Taye Diggs and Derek Luke.
Further down Friday’s top ten was the concert doc “Metallica: Through the Never,” which is off to an excellent start in limited release. The film, aided by higher 3D IMAX prices, headbanged its way to a $783,000 take from just 308 screens.
Look for complete box office estimates for the weekend on Sunday.