SATURDAY PM/SUNDAY AM, 9TH UPDATE: This big $200M moviegoing weekend is bringing out crowds post Fourth Of July and looking +34% from last year. Sony/Columbia's The Amazing Spider-Man is an easy #1 and looking like a $66M first weekend. 
That should give the 3D reboot a 6-day total of $141M through Sunday. Nice haul, but only middling when it comes to top moneymakers for that time period. Especially considering Spidey is Marvel's most popular character. 'In the world of reboots it's pretty spectacular,' a Sony exec reminds. (Batman Begins came back with a $48.7M opening weekend, while X-Men First Class debuted to $55.1M.) Little wonder that Sony is fast-tracking the next installment of its new trilogy with fresh villains and storylines that should spark more interest and box office in this too-soon reboot that was just a retread of the original origins saga.
Meanwhile, Universal's #2 holdover Ted is still strong domestically with a $35.5M domestic weekend and a fantastic 10-day cume of $123M. Audiences were starved for a smart laugher. It's now eclipsing Hangover as the biggest R-rated comedy. Both Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane can write their own ticket by Monday. (I still can't believe Fox passed') The foul-mouthed teddy bear also will be the #1 film in Australia this weekend after opening against the web-spinner. On Thursday Seth MacFarlane's 2D film made $2M and on Friday $2.1M down under for a two-day total of $4M vs The Amazing Spider-Man's two-day total of $2.6M. Ouch!
Related: 'Ted' Opens 'Off The Charts' In Australia
The newest major studio film, Oliver Stone's adult crime drama Savages, is looking like $16.6M for the weekend. That's a better than expected opening for a violent 'Hard R' pic with no proven stars. As you know, Universal made the decision to move this R-rated actioner from the safe harbor of a September 28th release (where The Town, a similar R-rated crime film, performed so well in 2010) to this very crowded summer slot. As a result, Savages could only release on 2,627 screens. Dumb move? Those better-than-average trailers made this look like a perfect fall movie. But the studio felt midweek numbers would be better and Savages could counterprogram Ice Age 4 next weekend. On the other hand, audiences gave Savages only a 'C+' CinemaScore, which will result in poor word-of-mouth. Good thing it was made for only $45M.
Struggling is the $12M low budget Katy Perry's Part Of Me which will do around $9.9M for its first weekend and $10.4M for its first 4 days in release. 'I guess it will take 5 days to gross its budget,' a Paramount exec joked about the Insurge pic. Earth to Hollywood: no one cares about Katy beyond a handful of tween/teen girls. Not even Russell Brand anymore.
Meanwhile, Woody Allen's critically panned To Rome With Love from Sony Classics exanded into the Top Ten based on weekend estimates. Refined numbers in the morning along with analysis of the 10-day holiday box office:
1. The Amazing Spider-Man (Columbia/Sony) Week 1 [4,318 Theaters] PG13
Friday $20.7M, Saturday $24.4M, Weekend $66M, Cume $140M
2. Ted (Universal) Week 2 [3,256 Theaters] R
Friday $10.5M, Saturday $13.5M, Weekend $35.5M (-35%), Cume $123.0M
3. Brave (Pixar/Disney) Week 3 [3,891 Theaters] PG
Friday $6.2M, Saturday $9.8M, Weekend $23.5M, Cume $177.8M
4. Savages (Universal) NEW [2,628 Theaters] R
Friday $5.6M, Saturday $5.9M, Weekend $16.6M
5. Magic Mike (Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,120 Theaters] R
Friday $6.1M, Saturday $5.4M, Weekend $14.9M (-62%), Cume $72.0M
6. Madea's Witness Protection (TPerry/Lionsgate) Week 2 [2,161 Theaters]
Friday $3.4M, Saturday $4.4M, Weekend $10.6M (-59%), Cume $46.1M
7. Madasgascar 3 (DreamWorks Anim/Paramount) Week 5 [2,861 Theaters] PG
Friday $2.3M, Saturday $3.2M, Weekend $8.0M, Cume $196.3M
8. Katy Perry: Part Of Me (Insurge/Paramount) Week 1 [2,730 Theaters] PG
Friday $2.7M, Saturday $2.6M, Weekend $7.3M, Cume $10.4M
9. Moonrise Kingdom (Focus Features) Week 6 [884 Theaters] PG13
Friday $1.3M, Saturday #2.1M, Weekend $5.0M, Cume $27.3M
10. To Rome With Love (Sony Classics) Week 3 [806 Theaters] R
Friday $860K, Saturday $1.4M, Weekend $3.2M, Cume $4.8M
THURSDAY PM, 7TH UPDATE: Sony Pictures says The Amazing Spider-Man (in extra-wide release at 4,318 theaters) made close to $15.8M on Thursday. That gives the reboot $75M with its 3D premium after three days of release on the eve of the start of the pic's first official weekend. Thursday's result was -30% from the 2nd biggest Fourth Of July at the domestic box office on record. 'The first two days, fanboys went to see the film. Now we have to see if girls and everybody else want to see it,' a Sony exec worried to me. Still, the pic is expected to earn at least $140M during its first 6 days of release. That would put the new Spidey only 27th in the record books of six-day grosses.
Related: Raunch Rules! R-Rated 'Ted' $52.5M And 'Magic Mike' $38M Weekends
Opening today was Paramount's concert movie Katy Perry: Part of Me (2,730 theaters) produced under the Insurge label at a cost of just $12M. The studio was expecting $3M to $4M today headed to the low- to mid-teens for the weekend, consistent with tracking projection. Sources tell me that the film performed on the low end of expectations today ' $3M ' but should gross its budget over the next 4 days of release. Audiences gave it an 'A' CinemaScore so great word of mouth may help widen the appeal beyond tween/teen girls. 'I'll admit Justin Bieber's fans are fanatical and rushed out opening day. But this movie should have much longer and better legs,' a Paramount exec tells me. On Tuesday the pic sneaked with $200K from the 100 screens and just 2 showtimes it screened.
One of Thursday's phenoms was the +67% jump from Wednesday to Thursday for Warner Bros' Magic Mike. (Because women couldn't say they were attending book club on July 4th?) Universal's Ted keeps holding #2 place. For that studio, Oliver Stone's action drama Savages (2,627 theaters) opens Friday but Universal doesn't have big hopes for it despite moving it from later in 2012 to this crowded summer weekend.
Here are the Top Six tonight beased on Thursday's grosses:
1. The Amazing Spider-Man 3D (Columbia/Sony) Week 1 [4,318 Theaters]
Tuesday $35.8M, Wednesday $23.4M, Thursday $15.8M, Cume $75.0M
2. Ted (Universal) Week 1 [3,239 Theaters]
Thursday $8.0M (+2% from Wed), Cume $87.8M
3. Brave 3D (Pixar/Disney) Week [3,966 Theaters]
Thursday $4.9M (-22% from Wed), Cume $154.7M
4. Magic Mike (Warner Bros) Week 1 [2,955 Theaters]
Thursday $4.5M (+51% from Wed), Cume $57.6M
5. Katy Perry: Part Of Me 3D (Insurge/Paramount) NEW [2,730 Theaters]
Thursday $3.1M, Cume $3.3M
6. Madea's Witness Protection (Tyler Perry/Lionsgate) Week 1 [2,161 Theaters]
Thursday $2.1M (-32% from Wed), Cume $35.6M
THURSDAY AM, 6TH UPDATE: It's now official ' Sony Pictures says domestic gross for its The Amazing Spider-Man is $59.2M. Wednesday's $23.4M was the 2nd biggest Fourth Of July at the box office on record, not surprising because of the 3D premium. The studio's estimate for Tuesday has increased to $35.8M with an additional $850K from Canadian pre-shows. Based on the performance of the Spidey reboot the past two days, Sony is revising the 6-day estimate upward from the expected $110M-$120M to $120M-$130M or more. According to MovieTickets.com, domestic box office ticket sales for The Amazing Spider-Man accounted for over 59% of all transactions for Wednesday, with 11.6% coming from moviegoers who want to see it in IMAX 3D. Universal's Ted accounts for nearly 10.5% of all transactions, showing strength leading in to its second weekend.
WEDNESDAY, 4TH UPDATE: More fireworks at the North American box office on the eve of the Fourth Of July. Sony Pictures' superhero reboot The Amazing Spider-Man opened with $35M Tuesday. (Of that $35M, IMAX took in $4 million.) It easily set a new domestic record for a Tuesday opening ' helped by its 3D premium pricing ' and is ahead of the original 2D Transformers ($27.8M) that debuted on Tuesday July 3rd, 2007. 'That is one huge number,' a Sony exec gushed to me last night. 'Unbelievable start to what should be a very exciting 6 days.'
TUESDAY 10 PM, 2ND UPDATE: No grosses yet. But I'm told Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man received an 'A-' Cinemascore from audiences (an 'A' from under age 18 moviegoers) which should spur good word of mouth.
TUESDAY 6 PM UPDATE: Usually if a movie is opening well in 4,318 North American theaters, the Hollywood studio wants to shout the results. For some reason Sony Pictures today is 'trying to keep a lid' on the North American grosses for its 3D The Amazing Spider-Man, in the words of one exec to me. 'At the end of the matinees we still have an incredible story to tell, especially knowing its a Tuesday night and not a Friday night. But the numbers don't lie.' Frankly, I don't get all the secrecy. Especially because, after claiming $7.5M in midnight shows and another $9.3M in matinees and pre-sales so far, the studio already has put $16.8M in the bank. 'Is it crazy to hope to get $9M or $10M more out of a Tuesday night?' a Sony exec asks me. No, but what's crazy is to keep it to yourselves. But the studio's extreme nervousness reflects concerns over how this rebooted franchise will go over just 10 years after the original, even more so because of what Sony's rivals have characterized as flat tracking even though this is Marvel's most popular character.
The Marc Webb-directed superhero actioner starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone opened with $7.5 million in midnight showings from 3,150 theaters. (IMAX took in $1.2M on 300 screens for $4,000 per screen). That's the same result as such blockbuster films as Iron Man 2, Pirates Of The Caribbean 2, and even Spider-Man 3 (playing in only 3,031 venues). 'We're right up there with big boys, giving us a great hand-off,' a Sony exec told me this morning. But none were 3D pics with its premium ticket prices. Its early international box office also has been stellar and so is this U.S./Canada debut. Last weekend The Amazing Spider-Man opened foreign with $50.2M, which was bigger than Marvel's The Avengers in some of its 13 international markets. It swept the Asian box office this weekend as the much-anticipated actioner opened early in a handful of overseas territories.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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