'Hotel Transylvania' charms families, breaks September record

After a few lackluster weekends, the box office has bounced back. The top twelve movies earned 28% more than last year's corresponding weekend, allowing everyone in the industry to breathe a sigh of relief.

Hotel Transylvania helped the most, breaking the record for highest opening in September (unseating Sweet Home Alabama). Not only did the animated comedy earn $43 million,
audiences gave the family-geared feature an "A" CinemaScore rating. That ensures that Transylvania will post stiff competition to its creepy animated competitor, Frankenweenie, which is opening this Friday. Moms and kids liked the movie even more, with an average rating that topped out at "A+." Besides the record of best September opening, the $43 million handily became the best debut ever for a feature from Sony Pictures Animation.

In second place, Looper also performed above expectations, pulling in $21.2 million. Its clear marketing campaign and positive reviews helped draw in an older male audience In a sign of
changing times, the movie is expected to bring in slightly more, between $23-25 million, from its debut in just one foreign territory: China. The sci-fi movie was a Chinese co-production, allowing it to sidestep the nation's small quota for foreign films.

Universal made a successful bet with Pitch Perfect. In advance of its planned wide release next week, the distributor opened the college-set comedy in 335 theatres. The release exceeded expectations and ended up with $5.2 million, with an impressive per-screen average of $15,200. A friend who caught the a capella comedy over the weekend predicts it will be the "Bring it On of the next generation,"
referring to 2000's popular, tongue-in-cheek cheerleader comedy, which Universal also distributed. That movie finished with $68 million a decade ago. With a $5 million debut in limited release, Pitch Perfect may sing an octave higher than that.

Despite opening on seven times as many screens as Pitch Perfect, Won't Back Down disappointed with $2.7 million, eking out a tenth-place finish. The "parents take back our schools" drama had little marketing support, which Fox reportedly withdrew after predicting a flop. That helped push the inspirational drama near the top of another list--worst opening of a release on 2,500+ screens. Won't Back Down now holds second place on that list, below another Fox release, The Rocker. Despite the poor performance, viewers who showed up gave the picture an "A-" CinemaScore rating. 

This Friday, Frankenweenie will compete for families in search of Halloween-themed entertainment, Taken 2 will put Liam Neeson in the midst of another kidnapping plot, and Pitch Perfect will expand into wide release.

'Hotel Transylvania' expects more bookings than 'Looper'

This fall brings not only the standard Halloween-weekend horror movie, but two creepy animated features. The first to release, Hotel Transylvania (3,349 theatres), should top the box office this weekend. The Sony Pictures Animation release is projected to earn in the $25-30 million range.
Its spooky competitor, Frankenweenie, opens next week, so Hotel Transylvania will need to make a positive impact with viewers to make it the first choice for families in weeks to come. According to THR's Michael Rechtshaffen, that's unlikely to happen. The comedy "falls flat virtually from the get-go." The cute plot idea, which centers on Dracula and the resort he runs for fellow monsters, is "an anemic example
of pure concept over precious little content."

Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt play the same person, only at different times, in Looper (2,992 theatres), a sci-fi feature that's been receiving positive buzz on the festival circuit. "Sci-fi and action audiences have a new cult film," proclaims critic Kevin Lally. Willis' character is sent
back in time to be killed by his younger self (Gordon-Levitt) in this decade-hopping feature, which also has a telekinesis plotline. Discerning viewers will appreciate the "gratifying, idiosyncratic touches" that make the alternate world feel that much more real. However, its R-rating means it will have a hard time matching the returns of a 3D family movie. Looper should end up in the $15 million range, though with a 93% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, the action/sci-fi combo is poised for a long run.

Won't Back Down (2,515 theatres) stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as a parent and Viola Davis as a teacher and parent who vow to take back their underperforming school and create something that will help their children learn. The inspirational
movie has drawn some fire from teacher unions, since the parents go around the union to accomplish their goal. Critic Doris Toumarkine took greater issue with the "literal" telling of the story, which "gives viewers what they want to see," but at the expense of originality. The result is a "well-done, well-meaning but predictable" drama that's unlikely to fire viewers up. With awareness low (perhaps it's hard to market to PTAs [parent-teacher associations] when the "T" is wary of your movie), the Fox feature should end up in the $5-10 million range.

Universal is releasing college a capella comedy Pitch Perfect in 335 theatres this weekend, in advance of a wide release next weekend. The
hope is that packed theatres full of laughing viewers will result in positive word-of-mouth for the wide expansion. The "energy and execution," according to critic David Noh, elevate the so-so content. He speculates that the actors are "probably ad-libbing like mad" in order to breathe life into the dialogue and round out their characters. A debut in the $2 million range should give this comedy plenty of momentum through its second weekend.

On Monday, we'll see if this stronger slate of new releases helps bring the box office back into competition with the year-over-year figures. In recent weeks, the box office has been down 10-20% from the previous year.