2 Guns rode the unlikely pairing of Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington to a strong start at the North American box office on Friday. The Smurfs 2 landed in third place after a mid-week debut, while Fox’s The Wolverine still has an edge left as it claws its way toward $100 million domestically.
2 Guns got off to a hot start by earning $1.3 million from midnight Thursday showings and through Friday as earned $10 million. It should finish its first weekend of business somewhere between $25 and $30 million, not too shabby for an R-rated action film released in August with a moderate budget of $60 million. Chalk up another 2013 hit for Universal whom has had several this year including Fast & Furious 6 and Despicable Me 2.
Hugh Jackman and The Wolverine took second on Friday with $6.4 million and has now earned $79.7 million in North America through eight days of release. The $100 million milestone should be crossed by the close of next weekend. Overseas ticket sales stand at $91.9 million and counting, which puts the $200 million mark worldwide within reach.
Sony unloaded The Smurfs 2 a couple days early on Wednesday and because of that took third on Friday with $5.5 million. At $15 million through three days, the sequel is essentially dead on arrival and will be fighting to hit $30 million through its first five days. The original Smurfs was more an international hit so there’s hope yet that Smurfs 2 will find its audience abroad.
The Conjuring knocked on $100 million’s door on Friday by adding $4.3 million to reach $99.2 million to date. Warner Bros. must be over the moon with the James Wan horror film that only cost $20 million to produce.
Despicable Me 2 continues to hang around the top five and tacked on $3.1 million to its already impressive $319.3 million tally. Gru and his minions figure to be paying movie screens a visit for many more years to come.
Stop back tomorrow to see if 2 Guns had enough star power with Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington to creep past $30 million, and if Smurfs 2 picked up any momentum on Saturday or Sunday, or if The Wolverine ran away with second place.
