Friday Report: 'Focus' Steals Away with $6.5 Million
On another quiet Friday at the box office, newcomers Focus (2015) and The Lazarus Effect both started off a little bit slower than expected.

Opening at 3,323 locations, Focus took first place with an estimated $6.47 million. That's nearly identical to Crazy, Stupid, Love. ($6.58 million), which was the previous outing from directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. It's also generally on par with star-driven, adult-friendly thrillers Limitless ($6.6 million) and The Adjustment Bureau ($6.7 million).

Still, it puts the movie on track to finish just below $20 million for the weekend, which is a tad disappointing when considering the star power involved (Will Smith and Margot Robbie) and the pervasive marketing effort as of late.

Playing at 2,666 locations, The Lazarus Effect opened to an estimated $3.8 million on Friday. That's a bit higher than Dark Skies, a Blumhouse horror movie that opened to $3.1 million around the same time in 2013. Still, it's noticeably lower than last Spring's Oculus ($4.97 million), which was regarded as a strong comparison ahead of the weekend. If The Lazarus Effect performs like a typical horror movie, it will wind up just shy of $10 million this weekend.

Fifty Shades of Grey held a bit better this week than it did last week, though that's not saying much: the movie fell 57 percent to an estimated $3.5 million, which puts it on track for a weekend in the $10 to $11 million range.

Kingsman: The Secret Service eased 41 percent to an estimated $3.12 million on Friday. The well-received comic book adaptation should move up to second place for the weekend with around $11 million.

The DUFF rounded out the Top Five on Friday with an estimated $2.14 million, which is off 50 percent from its opening day. So far, the high school comedy has earned a solid $15 million.

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water fell 48 percent to an estimated $2.1 million, which brings its total to $131.2 million. For the weekend, it will wind up ahead of The DUFF—and probably The Lazarus Effect—with around $10 million.

Weekend Projections

1. Focus - $19 million

2. Kingsman - $10.9 million

3. Fifty Shades - $10.5 million

4. SpongeBob - $10 million

5. The Lazarus Effect - $9.5 million

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Forecast: 'Focus' to Pickpocket $20-Million-Plus This Weekend

Related Charts:

Grosses for Friday, February 27, 2015

• 2015 Domestic Box Office