Box Office Report: '42' Hits It Big With a $9 Million Friday Opening

Moviegoers took themselves out to the ballgame at Friday’s box office, giving a rousing cheer to 42, the biopic about the legendary Jackie Robinson. The Legendary production released by Warners took in an estimated $9.1 million at 3003 locations in North America as it heads for a weekend in the mid $20 million range, buoyed by an enthusiastic A-plus CinemaScore.

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Thing weren’t quite so rousing for Dimension’s Scary Movie 5, the weekend’s other new wide release. While it arrived in second place, the horror movie parody collected $5.5 million in 3,402 locations and is looking at a weekend total of $13.5 million, with moviegoers giving it a C-minus CinemaScore.

STORY: '42' Star Chadwick Boseman: Jackie Robinson's Widow 'Overjoyed' By Biopic

Financed by Legendary Pictures, whose CEO Thomas Tull personally produced the $40 million project, the PG-13-rated 42 was written and directed by Brian Helgeland (A Knight’s Tale), and stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as the Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey.

Scary Movie is the latest installment in the long-running franchise from The Weinstein Co.’s Dimension label that dates back to 2000. Malcolm D. Lee, who last directed 2008’s Soul Men, handled the directing reins of the PG-13 comedy, which cost just $19.5 million, and the cast is something of a rogue’s gallery of boldface names including Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Simon Rex and Ashley Tisdale. 

Among the holdovers, Sony/Screen Gems Evil Dead, which was number one at the box office last weekend, checked in in third place with $3.2 million.

Fox’s release of DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods, entering its fourth weekend, claimed the fourth spot with $3.1 million.

Paramount’s GI Joe: Retaliation was fifth with $2.9 million as it climbs above the $100 million domestic mark this weekend.