Saturday update:
It was a good Friday at the domestic box office, with both new wide releases, Warner's "Sucker Punch" and Fox's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" sequel both on pace to gross over $20 million this weekend and match tracking.
Zack Snyder film "Sucker Punch" led the market Friday, grossing an estimated $8.1 million, but moderately-budgeted ($21 million) family comedy "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules" ($7.3 million) is still being projected to win the weekend.
The two top holdovers, meanwhile, Relativity's "Limitless" (down 29 percent from last weekend) and Lionsgate's "The Lincoln Lawyer" (down 27 percent), both had great holds.
Yet, it wasn't enough to put the struggling motion-picture business back into the black, with the market still down 8 percent from the same weekend last year.
Here's how the top 10 shaped up Friday:
"Sucker Punch" ($8.1m)
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules" ($7.3m)
"Limitless" ($4.7m)
"The Lincoln Lawyer" ($2.9m)
"Rango" ($2.4m)
"Paul" ($2.3m)
"Battle: Los Angeles" ($2.2m)
"Red Riding Hood" ($1.4m)
"The Adjustment Bureau" ($1.3m)
"Beastly" ($705,000)
Thursday box office preview:
The anemic box office could use a little punch … but it just might be a wimp that it's looking for.
Fox's "Dairy of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules" appears set to win the box office this weekend, grossing over $20 million while opening at 3,167 theaters.
That would be on par with the first adaptation of Jeff Kinney's comedic graphic novel series about a misanthrobic middle-schooler and his sadistic older brother — "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" opened to $22.1 million in March 2010 and grossed $75.7 million on a $15 million budget.
The Fox 2000-produced sequel returns most everyone save for "Kick-Ass" queen Chloe Moretz; was shot in Vancouver for just $21 million; and has the savvy game plan of emphasizing charismatic young actor Devon Bostick (who plays older brother Roderick).
The weekend's other wide release is the Zack Snyder-directed "Sucker Punch," a Legendary Films co-produced action-fantasy film that could have trouble punching its budgetary weight at the box office this weekend.
Opening in 3,033 theaters across the U.S. and Canada this weekend (incuding 229 domestic IMAX locations), the poorly reviewed movie (29 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) is expected to gross in the low $20 million range.
Various outlets have listed the PG-13-rated film — which stars Emily Browning — with a production cost of $82 million, although Warner officials say location tax breaks drove that cost down to the mid-$70 million range.
For his part, Warner distribution chief Dan Fellman thinks the film could crack $20 million and win the weekend.
"Whoever has a two in front of their total should win the weekend," he said.
Will that be enough for "Sucker Punch" to make money?
Barring big yields overseas, an underperformance could push Snyder — after a winning streak that included "300" and "Watchmen" — into back-to-back duds, with last year's 3D-animated "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole" also unable to punch its weight.
"Sucker Punch" is registering with decent 77 percent "total awareness" among its young-male target demo, according to one tracking firm, with solid 43 percent "definite interest."
"Wimpy Kid 2" is registering 88 percent total awareness among its target (young females), with 28 percent definite interest.
Beyond wide releases, notable limited debuts include Julian Schnabel's Mid-East-conflict-focused "Miral," which will be put into four theaters by The Weinstein Company.
Also getting a limted release in the U.S.: French film "Potiche, which stars Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu.
