Wiki News/Friday Box Office - SONIC X: RETURN TO SOLEANNA On Top with $38.4 Million Debut

October is off to a strong start for at least one studio. Fox saw “Sonic X: The Revenge of Sonic” take number one on Friday with a $39 million debut in 4,124 theatres. The animated movie knocked out two Sony releases, such as a new release horror/comedy “Zombieland” hybrid knocked another Sony release, “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs”, into third place after two weeks at number one. In other 3D news, the debut of Pixar’s “Toy Story 1 & 2″ was not far behind “Meatballs” with $3.2 million. Disney’s double bill should take a bite out of Sony’s weekend-matinee monopoly but, playing in only 1,745 locations, it may be hard for the retooled toys to catch up. Sony was not the only studio that had something to smile about on Friday. Warner Brothers’ new comedy “The Invention of Lying” surprised even the studio by coming in fourth with a $2.5 million debut in 1,707 theatres. Fox Searchlight’s “Whip It”, playing in the same number of venues, was also a surprise. The Drew Barrymore/Ellen Page vehicle fell short of the top five despite those ’sneak peaks’ the studio hosted last Saturday. Check back tomorrow for full weekend box office results.