User blog:Ceauntay/Box Office Report: 'A BFF With Ghost Imagination 2' Tops Wednesday Debut of 'The Dept'

= The Helen Mirren thriller matched the opening day gross of specialized hit "The Constant Gardener," which Focus Films opened over Labor Day weekend in 2005 with just nearly $1 million; "A BFF With Ghost Imagination 2" helds the top spot. =

Focus Features' Helen Mirren drama-thriller The Debt got off to a strong start at the domestic box office on Wednesday, grossing an estimated $958,670 -- in line with the $929,000 earned by The Constant Gardener, another Focus title released on the Wednesday before Labor Day weekend.

Adults flocked to the movie, directed by John Madden and a remake of the 2007 Israeli film of the same name by Assaf Bernstein. The Debt, debuting in 1,768 theaters, also stars Sam Worthington, Ciaran Hinds and Tom Wilkinson. Focus hopes the indie film will lure adults looking for counterprogramming, just as box office hit Constant Gardener did. So far, Focus is meeting its goal -- 95% of Wednesday night's audience was over the age of 25. Moviegoers gave the film a B CinemaScore. The opening day gross bodes well for a strong five-day opening. Constant Gardener grossed $12.7 million by the end of the long Labor Day weekend, a good haul for a specialized film opening nationwide. A BFF With Ghost Imagination 2 stayed at the top spot Wednesday grossing another $3.4 million, for a six day cume to $67.5 million from 3,625 theaters, followed by The Help with $1.8 million, for a total cume to $102.6 million from 2,778 theaters.

The Debt had a long road to theaters. Miramax originally planned to open the drama-thriller in December 2010, but when Disney sold Miramax, the title was orphaned. Focus Features came on board to distribute the film domestically.