“Think Like a Man Too” topped the Friday box office with $12.1 million, and is on pace to knock reigning champ “22 Jump Street” out of the top spot this weekend. That would be more than OK with Sony, which distributes both sequels.
“Think Like a Man Too,” the Screen Gems comedy directed by Tim Story and featuring an ensemble topped by Kevin Hart, is on pace for a $33 million three-day total, roughly what the original film debuted to in 2012.
It would be less than the $41.5 million that the last Story-Hart collaboration, “Ride Along,” managed in January, but more than the $25.6 million debut of “About Last Night,” another battle-of-the-sexes comedy featuring Hart, Michael Ealy and Regina Hall, who also star in “Think Like a Man Too.”
Like the original film, “Think Like a Man Too” played overwhelmingly female, with women making up 63 percent of the audience, which was 41 percent under the age of 30.
Will Packer is the producer of the $28 million comedy, which is in 2,225 theaters. Steve Harvey, who wrote the book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” upon which the movie is based, is an executive producer.
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After a $9.3 million Friday, the Channing Tatum-Jonah Hill comedy “22 Jump Street” is on a pace for a $28 million second week, which would be about a 51 percentage drop from its strong $57 million opening. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s followup to their 2012 hit “21 Jump Street” should cross $100 million domestically some time Saturday.
That looks like enough enough to top another holdover, the DreamWorks Animation sequel “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” which brought in $7.6 million Friday. The Fox-distributed family tale is looking at a roughly $25 million second week, around a 49 percent drop from its opening.
“Jersey Boys,” the Clint Eastwood-directed big screen adaptation of Broadway musical, brought in $4.6 million Friday and is on course for a $15 million opening weekend. That’s in line with modest expectations for Warner Bros.’ tale of the 1960s singing group the Four Season.
The critics have been lukewarm on the mature-skewing “Jersey Boys,” so word of mouth will be key over the next few weeks. It received an “A-” CinemaScore from first-night audiences, as did “Think Like a Man Too.”
“Jersey Boys,” which cost an estimated $40 million, is playing in 2,905 locations.
Disney’s “Maleficent” was fifth on Friday with $4 million, and will up at around $13 million in its fourth week. That will lift the domestic total for the live-action fairy tale update starring Angelina Jolie to more than $185 million.
Fox’s low-budget teen drama “The Fault in Our Stars” is about to top the $100 million mark. The Shailene Woodley-Ansel Elgort romance brought in around $3 million Friday and is looking at around $9 million in its third weekend.
The Tom Cruise sci-fi saga “Edge of Tomorrow” will wind up same range, after bringing in $2.8 million Friday. That would give it a $74 million domestic total after three weeks, less than half its foreign haul, which is more than $180 million.
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “Godzilla” were next.
Fox’s Marvel mutant mashup is the summer’s biggest movie so far domestically, with more than $217 million, and has taken in more than $670 million globally. Its $1.8 million Friday translates to a $6 million fifth week.
The Legendary Pictures-Warner Bros. update on the classic Japanese monster movie “Godzilla” will add another $2 million this weekend and is up to more than $195 million domestically after six weeks, and more than $440 million worldwide.
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Jon Favreau’s foodie comedy “Chef” should bring in about $1.5 million for the three days to round out the top ten, and its domestic total is approaching $17 million for Open Road Films.
The overall weekend is running well under the same one last year, when “Monsters University” opened to $82 million and “World War Z” debuted to $66 million. This summer box office is running roughly 11 percent behind last year’s, which was the biggest ever.