Friday Report: 'Act of Valor' Victorious On Friday
Active duty Navy SEALs proved much more interesting than Tyler Perry, Jennifer Aniston or Amanda Seyfried on Friday, as Act of Valor easily took first place on its opening day. Good Deeds had a decent start, though it ranks low compared to most of Perry's movies, while Wanderlust and Gone look to be on their way to the discount bin.

Act of Valor opened to an estimated $9.05 million on Friday. It had greater inintial attendance than Tears of the Sun and We Were Soldiers, both of which had the support of a popular lead actor (Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson) when they opened around the same time in 2003 and 2002. It did open lower than Battle: Los Angeles ($13.4 million) from last March, though that movie's sci-fi elements surely gave it a major advantage. Based on historical comparisons, Act of Valor looks poised for a weekend tally north of $25 million.

Good Deeds earned $5.35 million yesterday, which is the second-lowest opening day ever for a Tyler Perry movie behind Daddy's Little Girls ($4.58 million). It should wind up around $15 million for the three-day weekend.

The Vow plummeted 56 percent to $3.25 million, bringing its 15-day total to $96.3 million. By the end of the day, it should become the first Sony/Screen Gems movie to pass $100 million at the domestic box office. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island wasn't far behind with $3.2 million (a light 28 percent decline). The family adventure has now grossed $66.5 million, and is still tracking around $13 million ahead of the first Journey movie.

Last weekend's winner Safe House fell 52 percent to $3.1 million. The Denzel Washington-Ryan Reynolds actioner has now made $89.8 million, which only trails American Gangster ($91.6 million) among past Denzel movies.

On its second Friday, This Means War declined 51 percent to an estimated $2.75 million for a total of $27.8 million. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance fared much worse as it dropped 66 percent to an estimated $2.35 million. That's steeper than Ghost Rider's 62 percent decline at the same point in its run. Through eight days, the comic book sequel has made a meager $31.4 million.

Wanderlust and Gone both got off to incredibly poor starts on Friday. The Jennifer Aniston-Paul Rudd comedy opened in eighth place with just $2.2 million, and Universal is expecting around $6.2 million for the weekend. Gone was even worse with $1.7 million in ninth place. The movie is expected to earn $4.7 million for the three-day frame.

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Grosses for Friday, February 24, 2012