Fantastic Friday! Sony Boasts #1 & #2 Films: 'Hotel Transylvania' Sets September Record While 'Looper' Leaps; Universal Comedy 'Pitch Perfect' Scores Best Screen Average; Walden/Fox's 'Won't Back Down' Surrenders

SATURDAY AM UPDATE: Hollywood finally can celebrate better box office after weeks of lousy numbers. Friday overperformed for what should be an 'up' weekend: $110M total moviegoing, which is +20% better than last year. And Sony Pictures has $63M ' or 57% ' of it. It was a big day for Amy Pascal's and Jeff Blake's studio with both its #1 and #2 openings exceeding expectations.

Columbia's funhouse pre-Halloween toon Hotel Transylvania (3,349 theaters) is off to a monster start and has a real shot at breaking $40M by end of Sunday. But its weekend cume is already a sure thing to beat the record for the all-time September opening (shattering Sweet Home Alabama's $35.6M though not adjusted for inflation or higher ticket prices or 3D's premium). 'Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, this will likely be the highest grossing debut for Sony Pictures Animation,' a studio exec gushed.

Meanwhile TriStar's sci-fi actioner Looper (2,992 theaters) debuted solidly and could even break $20M. That would be the first time talented Joseph Gordon-Levitt officially opened a movie like a star ' something his future self Bruce Willis used to do regularly years ago.

But the major studios' best per screen average ($14,645) belongs to Universal's sleeper comedy Pitch Perfect which the studio platformed in just 335 theaters. That still enabled the pic to place an extraordinary 6th place, indicating good grosses ahead as its release expands.

This weekend's 4th newcomer MORE

Here are updated Top Ten numbers with order based on Friday estimates. Full box office analysis coming:

1. Hotel Transylvania (Sony) NEW [3,349 Runs] PG
Friday $11M, Weekend $39.5M

2. Looper (Sony) NEW [2,992 Runs] R
Friday $6.8M, Weekend $19.2M

3. End Of Watch (Open Road) Week 2 [3,083 Runs] R
Friday $2.3M (-48%), Weekend $7.6M, Cume $25.9M

4. The House At The End Of The Street (Relativity) Week 2 [3,083 Runs] PG13
Friday $2.3M (-49%), Weekend $7.3M, Cume $22.4M

5. Trouble With The Curve (Warner Bros) Week 2 [3,212 Runs] PG13
Friday $2.3M (-45%), Weekend $7.2M (-50%), Cume $23.4M

6. Pitch Perfect (Universal) NEW [335 Runs] PG
Friday $1.7M, Weekend $4.9M

7. Finding Nemo (Disney) Week 3 [2,639 Runs] G
Friday $1.0M, Weekend $4.0M, Cume $36.5M

Won't Back Down (Walden/Fox) NEW [2,515 Runs] PG
Friday $920KM, Weekend $2.6M

9. Resident Evil 5 (Sony) Week 3 [2,381 Runs] R
Friday $810K, Weekend $2.7M, Cume $38.5M

10. The Master (Weinstein Co) Week 3 [856 Runs] R
Friday $787K, Weekend $2.6M, Cume $9.5M

Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.