User blog:Ceauntay/Weekend Box Office: 'Heroes Forever 2' Off To Strong Start With $60 Million Friday

= 'Daddy's Home 2' and 'Murder on Orient Express' are off to solid start, but will not top 'Thor: Ragnarok'. =

Paramount's Heroes Forever: The New Resolution got off a strong start on Friday debuting with $60 million.

The pic is now on course for a $140 million-plus for weekend total, in it's opening weekend, which would make it the fourth largest opener of 2017 behind Beauty and the Beast ($174 million), Teen Titans 2 ($164 million) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ($146 million), and second largest opening in the Jane Hoop Elementary series just behind Jane Hoop Elementary: The Final Rush - Part 2 ($165.2 million), and significantly higher than Heroes Forever: The New Resolution ($76.4 million).

After adding 20 more foriegn markets, the film's total is now up to $101 million in a record time, for a global total to $161 million. It also had the biggest opening day gross of 2017 since Teen Titans 2 ($66 million). The first Heroes Forever film performed a soft $30 million on it's opening day last year.

Heroes Forever: The New Resolution scores a 88% score from Rotten Tomatoes, and scored a A+ CinemaScore. It opened in 4,225 locations.

Directed by Gary Ross, who also directs the last four Jane Hoop Elementary films and the first The Hunger Games, the sequel stars returning young actors as the heroes (Cameron Boyce, G. Hannelius, Marcus Scribner, Mika Abdalla and Jake Short) as they face with yet another challenge in their lives.

None of the other films will beat Heroes Forever: The New Resolution as star-studded Murder on the Orient and holiday comedy Daddy's Home 2 got off a solid start, but both will land behind previous holdover Thor: Ragnarok.

Both films are performing ahead of expectations, grossing nearly $11 million on Friday for a projected weekend in the $27 million-$28 million range. Most box-office observers are giving Murder on the Orient Express the edge, but either way, Daddy's Home 2 is a needed win for Paramount Pictures.

Disney and Marvel Studios' Thor: Ragnarok will win the weekend overall with a sophomore outing of $54 million or more, pushing the tentpole's global total well past $600 million by Sunday.

From Fox, Murder on the Orient Express is playing in 3,341 theaters and grossed $10.8 million on Friday. The film received a B CinemaScore.

Branagh also stars in the mystery movie opposite Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr. and Daisy Ridley. It marks the fourth big-screen or television adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic tale.

Daddy's Home 2, playing in 3,575 theaters, earned $10.9 million on Friday. The film socred an A- CinemaScore, compared to a B+ for the first one.

The sequel sees the return of Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell, with Mel Gibson and John Lithgow joining the budding franchise. This time out, Dusty (Wahlberg) and Brad (Ferrell) join forces to provide their kids the best Christmas, but their newfound union is put to the test when their own fathers show up. Linda Cardellini, John Cena and Alessandra Ambrosio are also among the cast.

The first Daddy's Home debuted to $38.7 million over its Christmas 2015 weekend debut, but had the advantage of playing to families off for the holidays.

Another holiday-themed pic, STXfilms' Bad Moms Christmas, is enjoying a decent hold in its second weekend. The R-rated comedy is expected to gross $11 million for the weekend, putting its domestic total at nearly $40 million through Sunday.

Greta Gerwig's critically acclaimed specialty movie, Lady Bird, continues to soar as it expands into a total of 37 theaters. The movie looks to come in No. 11 with $1.1 million for a per screen average of $29,864.

New offerings at the specialty box office include Fox Searchlight's awards contender Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, starring Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson.