It was a tale of two fairy tales at the box office on Friday night as Sam Raimi’s big-budget take on the world of Oz, “Oz the Great and Powerful,” premiered to a stellar $24.1 million, while holdover “Jack the Giant Slayer” continued to show few signs of life, nabbing only $2.5 million.
“Oz,” which stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams, is on track to earn between $75 million and $80 million for the three-day frame, making it one of the biggest grossers in March history, behind “The Hunger Games” ($152.5 million) and “Alice in Wonderland” ($116.1 million).
Disney was hoping to spin a new franchise out of “Oz,” and will likely move forward with confidence after this opening weekend.
Meanwhile, Bryan Singer’s pricey “Giant Killer” is expected to gross about $10 million for the frame, which would bring its domestic total to around $44 million. It reportedly cost nearly $200 million to produce.
New wide release “Dead Man Down” is likewise off to a shaky start. The thriller, which stars Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace, earned just $1.8 million from over 2,000 screens. It will likely pick up around $5.5 million in its debut weekend.
“Identity Thief” continues to do steady business, adding another $1.8 million to its $100 million+ cume, while fellow comedy “21 and Over” rounds out the top five, picking up another $1.6 million.
Look for complete weekend estimates Sunday on HitFix.