The Jackie Robinson biopic “42” connected with $9.1 million in its box-office debut Friday, and is heading for home with a record-breaking $27 million three-day total in sight.
The weekend’s other wide opener, horror spoof “Scary Movie 5,” was running second after opening to a soft $5.5 million Friday, which puts it on track for a disappointing $14.5 million first weekend. Holdovers "The Croods," "G.I. Joe Retaliation" and last week's No. 1 film, "Evil Dead," held the next three spots.
Also read: '42' Reviews: Does Jackie Robinson Movie Score?
Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.’ “42” was a crowd-pleaser and received a rare “A+” CinemaScore from first-night audiences at 3,003 theaters. The positive word of mouth should help it stay on its hot pace Saturday and Sunday and easily post the biggest opening ever for a baseball movie. The previous best was the 2006 comedy “Benchwarmers, ” which had a three-day total of $19.6 million. The 2011 Brad Pitt movie “Moneyball” debuted with $19.5 million.
Also read: 15 Highest-Grossing Baseball Films of All Time
Chadwick Boseman stars as Robinson, and Harrison Ford plays Branch Rickey, the Dodgers executive who signed him and broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947. It’s written and directed by Bruce Helgeland, the veteran writer behind “L.A. Confidential,” and “Mystic River.”
The Weinstein Company’s “Scary Movie 5” is on 3,402 theaters and drew a “C-” CinemaScore from its largely teen audiences.
Also read: 'Scary Movie 5' Review: The Sound of Spaghetti Not Sticking to the Wall
Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen star in the film, which is the fifth in the franchise and the first since 2006.
It's clear "Scary Movie 5" won't match the numbers put up by the earlier films, which all opened above $20 million – with three above $40 million – and averaged $107 million overall. But it's not a major loss for Weinstein; the production budget was less than $20 million.
DreamWorks Animation’s “The Croods” took in $3 million for distributor Fox on Friday, and is looking at an $11.5 million fourth week. It's overall worldwide total is now $336 million, with $207 million of that coming from overseas.
Paramount's "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" brought in $2.9 million Friday and is on pace for $9.6 million in its third week. It's a $236 million in global grosses, with foreign accounting for $145 million of that.
"Evil Dead," the horror remake that debuted atop last week's box office, took a 73 percent tumble from last Friday with $3.2 million and will likely finish the three days at about $9 million.
Universal's "Jurassic Park' 3D re-release added $2.7 million Friday and should wind up sixth with around $8.6 million.
After that it was FilmDistrict's "Olympus Has Fallen," which raised its domestic gross to $81 million with a $2 million Friday that translates to a $6.5 million three-day total. Disney's "Oz the Great and Powerful" followed with $1.2 million and will wind up with around $4.3 million in its sixth week. "Tyler Perry's Temptation" managed $1.3 million Friday and is looking at $4.1 million for its third weekend.
Focus Features' "Place Beyond the Pines," starring Ryan Gosling and Brad Cooper, expanded from 30 theaters to 514 and made the top ten. It took in $1.2 million and is on pace for a $4 million weekend.