While some are spinning the “Footloose” opening numbers as great–it will, after all, likely win the weekend–the film is definitely not cutting loose.
The remake opened to an estimated $5.6 million on Friday, which paces it for a bow in the mid-to-high teens. Though not notably below most expectations, which had the film landing in the high-teens to low-twenties over the weekend, it is a sign that solid reviews and great word-of-mouth did not drive a spectacular opening night.
The family-friendly vibe and positive fan reaction should keep the film strong over the weekend, but with this total, its status as a “hit” cannot be crowned until it shows longevity in the coming weeks.
New release “The Thing” opened to $3.8 million, very slightly better than some were expecting, but that still only puts the film on track for a $9-11 million weekend, and that assumes it was not extremely front-loaded as these films sometimes are. For a new horror release in October, that is not good–and using “Paranormal Activity 3″‘s upcoming launch as an excuse acts like there have never been two genre-connected movies released in the same month.
“The Big Year,” meanwhile, performed as badly as the bleakest of projections would have guessed–the Jack Black-Owen Wilson-Steve Martin vehicle grabbed just over $1.2 million on Friday.
