Friday Report: 'Back-Up Plan' Tops the Day, 'Dragon' to Top the Weekend
Though The Back-Up Plan was No. 1 on Friday, How to Train Your Dragon was close enough in second place that it is poised to top the box office in its fifth weekend of release. Other than that, though, it's shaping up to be a rather dull weekend with quiet debuts for The Back-Up Plan, The Losers and Oceans.

The Back-Up Plan made an estimated $4.2 million on approximately 3,600 screens at 3,280 theaters, which was below Jennifer Lopez' previous romantic comedy highs and was a bit less than When in Rome among recent genre entries. By further comparison, Baby Mama grossed $6.4 million on the same Friday in 2008.

How to Train Your Dragon had the best hold among nationwide releases, down 22 percent to an estimated $3.4 million. Because it's a holdover and a family movie, it should surge past The Back-Up Plan on Saturday and Sunday to lead the weekend as a whole. With a $166.4 million total in 29 days, Dragon's set to surpass Monsters Vs. Aliens's gross at the same point this weekend.

Date Night came in third with an estimated $3.3 million, down a standard 40 percent from last Friday. Its total stands at $56.2 million in 15 days.

The Losers lived up to its title in fourth place, bagging an estimated $3.2 million on around 3,300 screens at 2,936 sites. That was only a tad more than the $2.9 million opening day of action dud From Paris with Love from earlier this year.

Kick-Ass took a 63 percent hit in its second Friday, nabbing an estimated $2.9 million and upping its total to $28.2 million in eight days. The percentage drop was the same as The Punisher on the same Friday in 2004. More recent similar movies Zombieland and Superhero Movie each fell 50 percent in their second Fridays.

Death at a Funeral (2010) also took a tumble, off 58 percent to an estimated $2.4 million for a $22.8 million tally. Clash of the Titans (2010) was down 45 percent to an estimated $2.3 million, bringing its total to $139 million in 22 days.

Ranking eighth, Oceans was down 17 percent from its Thursday opening, mustering $2 million at 1,206 locations. While relatively okay for a documentary, it continued to lag behind Earth (2009), which generated $2.9 million on the comparable Friday last year, which was its third day of release.

Related Stories

Weekend Preview: 'The Losers,' 'The Back-Up Plan,' 'Oceans'

This Weekend in Box Office HistoryBankability Breakdown: Jennifer Lopez

Related Chart

• Daily Grosses for Friday, April 23