Categories: Entertainment News

“Super 8” Starts Ahead of Box Office Estimates, Still No Blockbuster, “Judy Moody” Soft

Expectations that it would fall far short of “blockbuster” levels indeed proved to be true, but “Super 8” began its box office run ahead of recent tracking with a chart-topping Friday performance.

The JJ Abrams film garnered $12.2 million at the box office Friday, which puts it on pace for a $35 million weekend (including an additional $1 million from Thursday’s screenings). Though this falls way short of the tally for Abrams’ “Star Trek” and even his “Cloverfield” production, it should easily top the $25-30 million that had been forecast in concerned reports this week.

Studio Paramount remains confident that positive word-of-mouth and good reviews will keep the film trucking at the box office. And, if the stated $50 million budget is to be believed, even a slightly slower-than-anticipated performance in the coming weeks would not necessarily derail its success.

“X-Men: First Class” landed in second on $7.6 million, topping the $5.7 million for “The Hangover Part II.” The latter’s tally kicked it over the $200 million domestic mark.

“Kung Fu Panda 2” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” rounded out the top five on $4.6 million and $3.1 million, respectively. “Pirates” also crossed the $200 million threshold.

“Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer,” the only major new release, debuted with a soft $2.2 million Friday.

Brian Cantor

Brian Cantor is the editor-in-chief for Headline Planet. He has been a leading reporter in the music, movie, television and sporting spaces since 2002. Brian's reporting has been cited by major websites like BuzzFeed, Billboard, the New Yorker and The Fader -- and shared by celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. Contact Brian at brian.cantor[at]headlineplanet.com.

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Brian Cantor