User blog:Ceauntay/Box Office Shocker: 'Teen Titans: The Movie' Earns $18.2 Million Friday

=UPDATED: The pic is now projecting for $40 million opening weekend; "The Hunger Games" edges off "The Three Stooges" and "The Cabin in the Woods; The biggest headline of the weekend will be overseas, where Universal and Hasbro's summer tentpole "Battleship" is expected to open to $58 million from 26 markets; the event pic won't open domestically for another five weeks.=

Warner's Teen Titans: The Movie got off to a strong start making in some box office money, earning a massive $18.2 million on Friday, which easily edges off The Hunger Games in its fourth weekend.

'''Box Office Shocker: 'Teen Titans: The Movie' Tracking for $35 Mil Plus Opening The pic is was projected to gross in at least $30 million over the weekend, it could now project to earn in about $35 to $40 million over the weekend after it earned some business on both Saturday and Sunday as kids from eastern were off of school for spring break.

By comparison, the pic has even bested Dr. Suss's The Lorax ($17.2 million) as the biggest single day gross for an animated film of the year. But when that film earns $70.2 million over the weekend, there was no chance if Teen Titans: The Movie could overtake that due to the fact that it has earned $31.2 million on a Saturday, and another $21.4 million on Sunday.

Box Office Shocker: 'Teen Titans: The Movie Earns Strong $3.2 Million in Midnight Runs Teen Titans: The Movie has earned $3.2 million from midnight screenings, which was the second best midnight gross of the year just behind The Hunger Games ($19.7 million).

The good news is that Teen Titans: The Movie is opened through out mostly around the world opening in just 13 foreign markerts, and should be able to have at least a solid worldwide opening. It is opening 13 foreign markets including United Kingdom, Norway, Singapole, Japan and Austraila and more and opens in Italy and Peru next week.

Titans scored a B+ CinemaScore overall, with a score of B from audiences, and a A from male audiences. The film focuses on younger audiences and comic book fans.

Titans was written by David Slack, and directed by Michael Chang. It features voice cast of Scott Menville, Hynden Walch, Greg Cipes, Tara Strong and Khary Payton.

Hunger Games, from Lionsgate, dropped to second for the first time with $6.5 million on its fourth Friday for a domestic cume of $322 million. The event pic is now facing the No. 2 spot for the weekend with $20 million.

Twentieth Century Fox's The Stooges cleared a solid $5.6 million as it opened domestically, versus $5.5 million for Cabin in the Woods, also from Lionsgate.

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Stooges, rated PG, will safely pull ahead of Cabin on Saturday as families begin turning out, and is expected to score a weekend gross of $18 million to $19 million. The slapstick comedy could do more if it enjoys a better-than-expected family bump.

Stooges, featuring Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes and Will Sasso as Moe, Larry and Curly, also stars Jane Lynch and Larry David' and was made for a modest $35 million, excluding marketing costs.

The comedy drew a B- CinemaScore overall, but a promising A from those under the age of 18. The film is playing especially well among boys, with those under 18 making up 30 percent of Friday's audience. Stooges is fueled by males of all ages, who made up 59 percent of the audience.

Cabin in the Woods earned a C CinemaScore, not uncommon for a horror title. The film, from from Lionsgate and MGM, is expected to gross in the $14.5 million range for the weekend.

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Cabin in the Woods was co-written by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon and directed by Goddard, with Whedon producing. Rated R, the film stars Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth (who also stars in Whedon's upcoming The Avengers), Anna Hutchison, Jesse Williams and Richard Jenkins.

The third new film opening domestically is EuropaCorp's sci-fi action pic Lockout, headlining Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace. Open Road Films is distributing the film for fellow indie distributor FilmDistrict, which is rebuilding its operation after losing Bob Berney and Jeanne Berney, who headed up distribution and marketing, respectively.

Lockout, grossing roughly $2.2 million, is predicted to open to $6 million to $8 million. James Mather and Stephen St. Leger directed the film from a script they wrote with Europa's Luc Besson. FilmDistrict acquired domestic rights from EuropaCorp.

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The biggest gross of the weekend will come overseas, where Universal and Hasbro's Battleship is rolling out five weeks ahead of its May 18 launch. The pic, earning $25 million in its first three days (in some territories, movies open midweek), is projected to gross $58 million through Sunday from 26 markets.

At $58 million, Battleship is pacing 75 percent ahead of John Carter's opening and 78 percent of Wrath of the Titans (both of those films will gross north of $200 million internationally).

Battleship, headlining Taylor Kitsch, is a powerhouse in Asia, posting an opening-day gross of $2.8 million in South Korea -- the best ever for an English-language nonsequel and the third-biggest of all time behind Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Shrek the Third''.

Universal and Hasbro, which spent north of $200 million to produce the tentpole, took the unprecedented step of going out so early internationally to give Battleship room before May tentpoles The Avengers and Men in Black 3 make their global assaults. Avengers opens May 4 domestically, but begins its foreign debut in two weeks.