Ivan Reitman-directed romantic comedy No Strings Attached, opened solidly to $7.3 million Friday, according to studio estimates, putting the R-rated Ashton Kutcher/Natalie Portman film on pace to match pre-release tracking forecasts of around $20 million. Budgeted at $25 million, “No Strings” debuted in 3,018 theaters with semisoft reviews (49 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), but great tracking among women under 25, with 57 percent of that demographic convey explicit interest in seeing the movie, according to one tracking firm.
The first thing you should know about “No Strings Attached” is that it's not a true romantic comedy but a sex comedy with romantic ambitions; the second is that it's brighter and cuter than many of its recent fellows. On opening night, the movie played to theaters across the country packed full of young women (and a lot of guys who want to make out).
Sony's The Green Hornet finished in second place Friday with $7.3 million. The $130 million Seth Rogen 3D action movie should cross the $60 million mark domestically by the end of the weekend, while experiencing a week-to-week drop of under 50 percent, if projections delay.
Universal buddy comedy The Dilemma is in third place with an estimated $3 million on Friday. The Ron Howard-directed movie, which stars Vince Vaughn and Kevin James, is expected to bring in over $9 million this weekend and also drop less than 50 percent from its premiere week.
Here's the Top 10:
1. No Strings Attached (Paramount) NEW [3,018 Theaters]
Friday $7.3M, Estimated Weekend $20M
2. The Green Hornet 3D (Sony) Week 2 [3,584 Theaters]
Friday $5.2M (-53%), Estimated Weekend $17M, Estimated Cume $62.3M
3. Dilemma (Universal) Week 2 [2,943 Theaters]
Friday $3M, (-51%), Estimated Weekend $10M, Estimated Cume $33.5M
4. The King's Speech (Weinstein Co) Week 9 [1,680 Theaters]
Friday $2M, Estimated Weekend $7M, Estimated Cume $56.5M
5. True Grit (Paramount) Week 5 [3,464 Theaters]
Friday $2M, Estimated Weekend $6.7M, Estimated Cume $137.3M
6. Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Week 8 [2,407 Theaters]
Friday $1.7M, Estimated Weekend $5.7M, Estimated Cume $83M
7. Little Fockers (Universal) Week 5 [2,979 Theaters]
Friday $1.2M, Estimated Weekend $4M, Estimated Cume $140.8M
8. The Fighter (Relativity/Paramount) Week 6 [2,275 Theaters]
Friday $1.2M, Estimated Weekend $4M, Estimated Cume $72.5M
9. Tron: The Legacy 3D (Disney) Week 7 [2,018 Theaters]
Friday $975K, Estimated Weekend $3.5M, Estimated Cume $163M
10. Yogi Bear 3D (Warner Bros) Week 6 [2,510 Theaters]
Friday $750K, Estimated Weekend $3.5M, Estimated Cume $88.3M
No Strings Attached Trailer
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubfcfs98MBw[/youtube]
