Friday Report: 'Die Hard,' 'Safe Haven' in Close Presidents Day Race
A Good Day to Die Hard narrowly took first place at the beginning of Presidents Day weekend, though overperforming Nicholas Sparks adaptation Safe Haven wasn't far behind. Escape From Planet Earth also had a solid start, while Beautiful Creatures missed the Top Five.

The fifth Die Hard movie took in $7.2 million on Friday; add in its $8.2 million from Valentine's Day, and the movie has so far earned $15.4 million. In comparison, Live Free or Die Hard grossed $15 million through its first two days. For its five-day opening, A Good Day to Die Hard will likely wind up under $40 million, which is slightly disappointing given the franchise's strong history and the ubiquitous marketing effort.

Safe Haven was a close second on Friday with $7.15 million—it opened ahead of Die Hard on Valentine's Day, though, and has a two-day lead with $16 million. For the five-day frame, the movie should earn over $30 million, which would put it in the same general league as 2010 Sparks adaptation Dear John.

Critics and audiences were extremely divided on Die Hard and Safe Haven: both have atrocious scores on Rotten Tomatoes (less than 20 percent fresh), but each earned a solid "B+" CinemaScore from audiences.

Last weekend's winner Identity Thief had another great day on Friday: it fell 41 percent to an estimated $6.5 million, which was good for third place. Through eight days, the Jason Bateman/Melissa McCarthy comedy has earned $53.8 million, and by Monday it will pass Mama to become the highest-grossing 2013 release to date.

Escape from Planet Earth opened to $3.7 million from 3,288 locations on Friday. That doesn't sound like much, but animated movies play well through holiday weekends, and a four-day opening north of $15 million is a guarantee. That's not a bad tally for a movie that got pushed out without much marketing after languishing on the shelf for a bit.

Warm Bodies rounded out the Top Five with $2.6 million, which is off a light 20 percent from last Friday. The zombie romance has earned $43.8 million so far, and will be past $50 million through Monday.

Young adult fantasy adaptation Beautiful Creatures is bombing so far: the movie took in $2.3 million on Friday for a terrible two-day total of $4.8 million. For the five-day frame, it will likely wind up just over $10 million, which virtually guarantees that fans of the book series will never, ever get to see a sequel.

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Grosses for Friday, February 15, 2013