Audiences are ready for some fun this weekend, as the 3D animated film “The Lego Movie” is dominating the box office, building off of a huge $17.1 million Friday.
George Clooney’s delayed WWII dramedy “The Monuments Men” came in a ditant second, earning a decent $7 million.
Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “Lego” is likely to top a whopping $60 million for the weekend, making it the second-biggest February opener ever, after Mel Gibson’s similar 2004 film “Passion of the Christ.”
“Lego” features the voices of Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks and Morgan Freeman, and has already been slated for the sequel treatment.
“Monuments Men,” which stars Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett, will earn around $20 million for the weekend. It’s a solid, if not spectacular, start for the the $70 million film, which was originally scheduled to open in the more competitive Christmas season last year.
In the wake of the new films, “Ride Along” was finally toppled from first place after three weeks, picking up another $2.6 million on Friday. Now at $98.3 million domestically, it should be crossing the $100 million mark later today.
In fourth place was the holdover “That Awkward Moment,” staring Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller. The comedy made off with $1.7 million on Friday, brining its domestic total to $13 million. It cost a reported $8 million to produce.
“Vampire Academy,” the other new wide opener this week, sucked up just $1.4 million on Friday to round out the top five. The Weinstein Commany supernatural comedy will likely earn a very flat $4 million for the weekend.
Look for continuing box office updates throughout the weekend and holidays on HitFix.