'Perfect Guy,' 'The Visit' box office stronger than expected
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "The Perfect Guy" and "The Visit" sailed past modest opening weekend expectations — and budgets — locking in debuts in the mid-$20 million range thanks in part to good timing and robust female turnout.
"The Perfect Guy," a PG-13 rated thriller starring Sanaa Lathan and Michael Ealy, secured the first place spot with $26.7 million, according to Rentrak estimates on Sunday.
M. Night Shyamalan's nail-biter "The Visit," a $5 million production from micro-budget horror-makers Blumhouse, took a close second with an estimated $25.7 million for distributor Universal.
With numbers this close, the places might shift when Monday actuals roll in, but both films are resounding successes on a weekend that often doesn't go noticed on the release calendar.
Studios are finding a land of opportunity in weekends that were heretofore 'slow weekends' at the box office and proving that audiences are always looking for new content.
Female audiences helped "The Perfect Guy" shoot to the No. 1 spot.
Not only is it a date movie, but it's a film that girlfriends are going to go to together as well, said Rory Bruer, Sony's President of Worldwide Distribution.
"The Visit" also saw a majority female audience (60 percent) on opening weekend, although existing crowds gave this one a B- CinemaScore.
People look to those films as having something special about them.
In third place, "War Room" continues to prove mightily powerful with $7.4 million in its third weekend in theaters, but the faith-based categorization isn't always a sure revelation.
"90 Minutes in Heaven," a Christian film starring Kate Bosworth, opened in ninth place to only $2.2 million from 878 locations.
"Both 'The Perfect Guy' and 'The Visit' took full advantage of a perfect release date before 'Sicario,' 'Everest,' 'Black Mass,' and 'The Scorch Trials' all open," said Dergarabedian.
Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.