Box Office Report: 'Stooges', 'Cabin' and 'Hunger Games' in Tight Friday Race

The Farrelly brothers' big screen adaptation of The Three Stooges and Lionsgate's horror pic Cabin in the Woods got off to a strong start Friday at the box office, with the family-friendly Stooges leading matinee business.

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Cabin in the Woods, produced and financed by MGM before it was acquired by Lionsgate, will pick up as evening shows get underway.

The two films and holdover The Hunger Games could end Friday in a relatively close race, each grossing in the $5 million to $7 million range.

Stooges now has a shot at winning the day, toppling Hunger Games from the top perch at the domestic box office for the first time since Hunger Games opened on March 23. But all that changes if Stooges begins dropping off Friday evening and earns $5 million for the day.

If Stooges, rated PG, grosses $6 million or more on Friday and continues to enjoy strong family business on Saturday and Sunday, it could beat "Hunger Games" for the weekend, but no one is making any bets yet.

Stooges is looking at a weekend debut in the $15 million to $18 million-plus range; Hunger Games, also from Lionsgate, is expected to gross $18 million to $19 million in its fourth outing, putting its domestic cume in the $335 million range.

Cabin should gross $13 million to $15 million for the weekend.