Adam Sandler Finds Success Running 'Hotel'
Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we would never advise sharing a room with the Wolfman. He doesn't flush or put the seat down.
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1. Hotel Transylvania (Sony): $43 million in 3,349 theaters
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Why don't you come stay at the Hotel Transylvania? This Adam Sandler-led kids movie did huge numbers. Maybe you didn't notice, but grosses have been down over the last few weeks. Like, really bad. Enter Sandler, and Transylvania. As dumb as he is, Sandler almost never disappoints at the box office. He's one of the most bankable stars going, and this is no different. Transylvania's opening weekend is the biggest since Batman, and helped push the whole weekend up 20% over last year. The director, Genndy Tartakovsky, cut his teeth at the Cartoon Network producing some of their marquee shows like Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack and the Star Wars: Clone Wars series. It's not a huge surprise to hear he's finding success on bigger screens.
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2. Looper (TriStar): $21.2 million in 2,992 theaters
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Oh, Looper. You're so popular in China! You got beat by a kids movie, but $20 million isn't disappointing for director Rian Johnson's first big budget movie, and Joseph Gordon-Leavitt's first lead role. Our Richard Lawson loved it, and so did Will Leitch. Looper hilariously tries to stop you from thinking about time-travel, but it wasn't plot holes that made us leave the theater disappointed. Our hopes were high. Johnson's touch isn't as strong on this one. His eye doesn't come through here like it did in Brick or The Brothers Bloom. Maybe it'll be better once we see it again. (And, yes, we are seeing it again.)
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3. End of Watch (Open Road): $13 million in 2,730 theaters [Week 2]
A survey recently revealed 98% of the people seeing End of Watch are cops and security guards who wish their jobs were as exciting as the movie.
4. Trouble with the Curve (Warner): $12.7 million in 3,212 theaters [Week 2]
Matthew Lillard tried to explain WAR and VORP to Clint during filming, but Clint responded by telling Lillard to go make him a sandwich.
5. House at the End of the Street (Relativity): $13 million in 3,083 theaters [Week 2]
The lady who lived in the house at the end of our street growing up always gave out full chocolate bars at Halloween. She was nice. Glad they made a movie about her.