Box Office: 'Clash of the Titans' slays moviegoers with a $26.4 million Friday

'Why Did I Get Married Too' overperforms and 'Dragon' stays strong

By Gregory Ellwood Saturday, Apr 3, 2010 11:13 AM

The reviews haven't been kind, but that didn't stop audiences from making "Clash of the Titans" a must-see on Friday. The Louis Leterrier remake of the 1981 camp classic pulled in a mammoth $26.4 million on its opening day. Combined with Thursday night's sneaks, "Titans" has grossed $29 million so far. Even with increased 3-D prices, that's an impressive debut. Especially with last weekend's champ, "How To Train Your Dragon," still on a large number of 3-D screens. If trends hold, "Clash" could end the three day with $65-70 million.

Jumping into the second slot was Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too." The melodrama found $12.3 million on Friday and could make between $26-28 million through Sunday. That's a startling take for a sequel of a film that opened to only a $7.4 million opening day and $21.3 million weekend in October of 2007. More surprising, since it wasn't reviewed for critics, "Married" had the better reviews (relatively) than "Clash" or "The Last Song."

"Song," which debuted on Wednesday in the top slot, fell to fourth with $7.1 million. By Sunday, the Miley Cyrus romantic drama should have around $25 million in the bank.

Falling to third, but down minimally from its debut was the critic's and audience favorite "How To Train Your Dragon." The best reviewed film in DreamWorks Animation's history found $11 million on Friday for what should be a $26-28 million three-day.

Sneaking into the top five was "Hot Tub Time Machine." The raunchy comedy found $2.9 million on Friday for a new eight day gross of $21 million. Word of mouth could propel "Machine" to a new total of $27-29 million by the end of the holiday weekend.

Look for final weekend estimates tomorrow on HitFix.

Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.