Update: “The Internship” Disappoints at Box Office, “Purge” Red Hot

Excitement that “The Internship” would outperform late tracking has proven for naught. The Vince Vaughn-Owen Wilson comedy will ride its lackluster Friday debut to a modest overall weekend.

Based on early returns, Deadline guessed “The Internship,” which was originally forecast for a weekend bow in the $15-18 million range, could earn as much as $9 million Friday. If it accomplished that, its weekend gross would surely cross the $20 million barrier.

Unfortunately, that $20 million is now looking more and more like a ceiling; the film earned only $6.6 million Friday, which revises estimates back to their high-teens level.

But regardless of the specific gross, it will be no match for “The Purge,” which earned a healthy $16.7 million in its opening day. Analysts believe it will be front-loaded, but the film will have no trouble cracking comfortably into the $30-40 million range, which would represent a massive improvement over the $20 million that was forecast.

“Fast and Furious 6,” in a quest to reach $200 million this weekend, added another $6.1 million Friday for a domestic cume of $189.3 million. “Now You See Me” ($6.0 million) and “Epic” ($3.6 million) completed the top five.

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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