“The Purge” Crushes Box Office Expectations, “Internship” Does Okay

“After Earth,” last week’s high-profile debut, flopped at the box office, falling short of already-underwhelming expectations.

The same scenario will not victimize new releases “The Purge” and “The Internship,” both of which are pacing to crush industry projections.

“The Purge” has proven red-hot Friday, and Deadline’s estimates say the film will make at least $16 million Friday (including $3.4 million from midnight showings) en route to an impressive mid-$30 million weekend debut.

Not even revised box office tracking data, which would have accounted for late interest in “The Purge,” anticipated a bow higher than $25 million.

It won’t even flirt with the overall gross for 2005 Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson pairing “Wedding Crashers,” but “The Internship” will still exceed curiously low tracking. On track to earn $9 million Friday, the film should easily push into the low-to-mid $20 million territory for the full weekend. Most tracking was for a bow in the mid-to-high teens.

Of note is that neither film received good reviews.

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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