HitFix

Box office: ‘Elysium’ tops crowded Friday with $11.2 million

by: Uproxx authors

This weekend found no less than four new films opening wide in North America, but Matt Damon didn’t sweat the competition as his latest film “Elysium” easily took the top spot at the Friday box office.

The  Sony sci-fi film scored $11.2 million in its opening frame, while the comedy “We’re the Millers” earned $8.5 million and Disney’s “Planes” flew to a disappointing $8.1 million.

“Elysium” will likely pick up around $30 million by Monday. It stars Damon and Jodie Foster, and was directed by Neill Blomkamp. However, “Elysium” won’t match the surprising opening numbers of the director’s debut, “District 9,” which picked up $37.4 million in 2009. 
 
The Jennifer Aniston-Jason Sudeikis comedy “Millers” eked ahead of “Planes” on Friday, picking up $8.5 million compared to the cartoon’s $8.1 million. The two films will be in a close race for second place for the weekend. 

Since opening Tuesday, “Millers” has made a solid $19.9 million.

“Planes” comes from the world of Disney-Pixar’s “Cars,” but will have a hard time flying as high as those films. It will likely earn around $23 million for the weekend. The critically drubbed film was originally intended to be straight-to-DVD, and was produced by DisneyToon Studios as opposed to Pixar. 
 

Yet another wide opener, the fantasy sequel “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” earned just $4.9 million for fourth place. Look for it to fight its way to a soft $24 million for the weekend, which pales in comparison to the 2010 originals’ $37 million opening. However, the film will likely be a strong contender overseas. 
Holdover “2 Guns” rounded out the top five with $3.4, bringing its domestic total to $40 million. 

Look for complete weekend box office estimates tomorrow on HitFix.