While “Legion” handily defeated “Tooth Fairy” in the battle of poorly-reviewed new releases Friday, by weekend’s end, the battle should be closer. And, in any event, neither will set the world on fire with its box office tally.
“Legion” opened with $6.7 million Friday, landing in second place behind “Avatar” ($9.1 million). “Tooth Fairy,” meanwhile, claimed fourth with $3.5 million, falling victim to a $4.9 million holdover performance for “The Book of Eli.” The $3.5 million figure is down 44% from the $6.3 million opening gross for Dwayne Johnson’s similarly-targeted “The Game Plan” and 48% below the $6.7 million opener for “Race to Witch Mountain.”
Genre films like “Legion” tend to come quickly out of the gate before steadily declining over the rest of the weekend. If that happens, the family-skewing “Fairy,” which will presumably do improved business with the Saturday matinee crowd, could close the gap among new releases.
“The Lovely Bones” earned $2.6 for fifth place on Friday, edging the $2 million for new release “Extraordinary Measures.” “Measures” was also panned by critics, although it received an A- Cinemascore ranking from those few individuals who saw the film Friday.