That would be Hotel Transylvania 2, produced by Sandler’s Happy Madison, with Sandler voicing the lead, which grossed an estimated .5 million and easily took the number one spot this weekend.
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In an all-around successful weekend, both Adam Sandler’s animated sequel and Nancy Meyers’ new film opened to solid numbers, alongside the expansions of some films that did well in limited release. However, the second chapter reached the biggest opening and Sony “has had all year”, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Transylvania 2, playing in 3,754 locations, opened higher than Hotel Transylvania (2012), the previous record-holder for the top September opening with $42.5 million.
“It’s on it’s way to being one of the most beloved franchises of all time”, said Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures president of worldwide distribution. “There are a lot of stories left to tell”, he added, saying that he hoped there would be a third instalment.
Nancy Meyers also saw a healthy return for her efforts, with Anne Hathaway/Robert De Niro comedy drama The Intern arriving in second place with $18.2 million. The second prequel broke record by hitting the highest grossed film for September opening of all time. In addition to “Hotel Transylvania 2“, Universal expanded “Everest” from Imax and premium format screens to 3,006 locations, where the high altitude disaster film picked up $13.1 million. But none of the list can boast the profit margins of War Room, the faith-based film raking an estimated $4.3 million on the weekend and $56 million in gross over a $3 million budget.
Coming in fifth for the weekend was Black Mass, which has earned Johnny Depp some considerable Oscar buzz for his portrayal of Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, but hasn’t exactly dominated the box office. But it seems like Hotel Transylvania 2 is offering him a new lease at movie life.
Overseas box office, The Intern launched in 40 markets, or 38%of the marketplace, grossing $11.8-M for a global box office debut of $30-M. Seventh place belonged to the dramatic thriller The flawless Guy which brought in another $4.75M this weekend, bringing its total to $49M. Internationally, Scorch Trials raced past the $100 million mark, earning $28.4 million from 70 territories for a foreign total of $121.8 million and global cume of $173.5 million.
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Eli Roth’s cannibal flick The Green Inferno was also finally released – after sitting on the shelf in legal limbo for a year – in only half the theaters with minimal, targeted advertising. Expect a third installment after Sandler makes another string of awful live-action films. Earning $112,414 from 129 screens, that’s a pitifully low $871 per screen average which sounds awful, but it’s only the fourth worst PSA of 2015 (#1 “The D Train“, #2 is “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” and #3 is “We Are Your Friends“).
