Box office: ‘Identity Thief’ steals top spot from ‘Warm Bodies’ on Friday

“Identity Thief” topped the box office on Friday night, scoring a surprisingly strong $11.2 million despite the fact that much of the Eastern seaboard was buried under a massive snowfall. 

The Universal comedy, starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy, is performing beyond expectations and should earn an impressive $34 million or so for the weekend. However, studios are unsure how the blizzard will affect the rest of the weekend, as many theaters in New England are closed. 

In second place, holdover “Warm Bodies” scared up another $3.3 million. It has so far earned $28.4 million at the domestic box office. 

Debuting in third was Steven Soderbergh’s pharmaceutical thriller “Side Effects,” which picked up a decent $2.8 million, and should earn around $9 million or $10 million for the three-day. The film stars Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Channing Tatum, and is reported to be the final theatrical release from the prolific Soderbergh (“Traffic,” “Erin Brockovich”). 

David O. Russell’s Oscar-nominated “Silver Linings Playbook” continues to do solid business, picking up $1.6 million on Friday, for a domestic gross of $84.6 million. 

Meanwhile, the critically-drubbed “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” rounded out the top five, with $1.3 million. The fairy tale’s total is now $39.4 million. 

Further down, the 3D re-release of the 1985 Tom Cruise action film “Top Gun” cracked the top ten, debuting to $533,000 on 300 screens. 

Look for complete weekend estimates Sunday on HitFix.

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