The Grey Follows Liam Neeson to Friday Box Office Conquest.

Liam Neeson Leads The Grey to Friday Box Office VictoryLiam Neeson took on a pack of wolves and bloodied himself in leading The Grey to an opening day victory at the North American box office on Friday. Katherine Heigl’s latest flick One for the Money, got a little push from Groupon that helped it land in the second spot.

The Grey began tracking into the evening on Friday on pace for an opening day total of around $5 million. As word of mouth spread about the thriller pitting a band of airplane crash survivors against a pack of territorial wolves in the Alaskan wilderness, business picked up. By the end of Friday, The Grey had enjoyed a $6.5 million opening day. By the time it’s done with its theatrical run, The Grey should surpass the $25 million put up for distributor Open Road last year with the lackluster thriller Killer Elite.


One for the Money got a boost from Groupon which sold tickets for $6 each to the Katherine Heigl and Jason O’Mara (Terra Nova) flick. Through Friday it has earned $4.1 million and should end its opening weekend somewhere in the low teens or just below that.

For distributor Lionsgate, the actual gross income earned from One for the Money will be less than what the box office reports suggest. The $4.1 million takes into account a full-price ticket, but Lionsgate is paying for a portion of every ticket sold through Groupon.

The other newcomer, Man on a Ledge starring Sam Worthington, could only muster a fifth place finish with $2.5 million for Summit Entertainment. The poorly reviewed thriller is now assured an opening weekend below $10 million, just like Worthington’s The Debt.

Third place when to Kate Beckinsale and Underworld Awakening. Now in its second weekend, the fourth film in the vampire vs. Lycan saga managed $3.4 million on Friday representing a steep 63% drop from its opening day a week prior. With the additional cash, Underworld Awakening’s gross now stands at $36 million.

George Lucas’ Red Tails concludes the top five with a fourth place finish of a mere $2.8 million. That’s a big 53% decline from its opening day, signaling that all systems are not go for the Tuskegee Airmen to fly much longer. It has now earned $26.2 million overall.

Check back Sunday for the complete weekend box office recap and analysis to see if The Grey picked up steam or One for the Money closed the gap off matinees.

Read our The Grey review.

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