Box office update: 'Grown Ups 2' beats 'Pacific Rim' on Friday

Following back-to-back misfires Jack & Jill and That’s My Boy, Adam Sandler needed a hit to re-establish his box office viability — and it looks he’s got one with Grown Ups 2, which topped Friday with $16.3 million. If the $80 million Sony comedy can hold off Pacific Rim and Despicable Me 2 through Sunday night, it could finish the weekend in first place with a robust $45 million, but it’s going to be a close race.

Pacific Rim, Guillermo Del Toro’s $190 million robots vs. monsters adventure, took in $14.6 million on Friday, which could lead to a weekend in the $35-40 million range. (It looks like tracking — not online buzz — was right this time.) With an “A-” CinemaScore grade, Pacific Rim could have strong enough word of mouth to reach the higher end of that range and overcome the tendency of many geek-oriented titles to overperform on opening night and lose momentum through the weekend.

In third, Despicable Me 2 finished Friday with $13.4 million, but it probably has the best shot at hitting No. 1 this weekend thanks to family matinee shows on Saturday and Sunday. The animated film, which has already earned $197 million, could take in about $47 million this weekend, which would give it a $230 million total after just 12 days.

The Heat finished in fourth place with $4.2 million, which sent the Sandra Bullock-Melissa McCarthy comedy straight past the $100 million mark and puts it on pace for a $14 million frame. Disney’s expensive mistake The Lone Ranger rounded out the Top 5, dropping 68 percent from its first Friday and lassoing just $3.4 million. The $225 million Western could earn about $11 million in its second weekend, which would give it $71 million total after 12 days in theaters.

Check back tomorrow for the full box office report.