Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph starring the voices of John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman, along with Flight starring Denzel Washington, each rung up big numbers at the North American box office on Friday, overcoming the aftermath of hurricane Sandy on the northeast region.
Disney opened the nostalgic video game animated film Wreck-It Ralph at just over 3,750 locations and totaled up $13.4 million during the film’s first 24 hours of release. Wreck-It Ralph should benefit from matinee business on Saturday and Sunday resulting in a three-day opening weekend haul somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 million, right in line with projections coming into the weekend.
Flight took off in only 1,884 locations and still managed to secure an impressive $8.2 million opening day. Critical response to Flight coming into the weekend was strong (read our Flight review), especially for Denzel Washington’s performance as an airline pilot struggling with substance addiction. With audiences granting Flight an “A-” CinemaScore, expect Flight to soar past the $20 million mark to cap a strong debut.
RZA’s directorial debut The Man with the Iron Fists, which he co-wrote with Eli Roth, came in third on Friday with a paltry $3 million. The soft opening points toward a weekend total of around $7 to $8 million, hardly what Universal Studios had in mind considering their strong marketing push aimed at young adult males.
Ben Affleck’s Argo continues to go-go and impress with light week-to-week dips, dropping only 24 percent entering its fourth weekend of release. With another $3 million in its pot, Argo has now reached $68.6 million and continues its slow and remarkably steady march toward the $100 million milestone.
Taken 2 wrapped up the top five with $1.8 million and brought its total to $121.5 million to boot. Online retailer Amazon.com has already begun taking pre-orders for Taken 2 on Blu-ray and DVD, including revealing the cover art. It is expected to make its home video debut in January or February at the latest.
Stop back tomorrow to see if Wreck-It Ralph topped $50 million and how far Flight was able to soar beyond $20 million.
