Friday Report: 'Ralph' Rules, 'Flight' Blasts Off
Wreck-It Ralph and Flight each got off to strong starts on Friday, which suggests that Hurricane Sandy isn't having a negative effect on the box office.

Ralph scored an estimated $13.4 million, which is an improvement over most early November animated movies. For example, it's a bit higher than 2010's Megamind ($12.5 million) and much better than 2008's Bee Movie ($10.2 million). It was also up on the opening days of fellow Disney Animation movies Tangled ($11.9 million on a Wednesday) and Chicken Little ($10.6 million). Based on these comparisons, Wreck-It Ralph is in line for somewhere between $45 and $50 million for the three-day weekend.

Flight opened at half as many locations as Ralph (1,884 vs. 3,752), but still managed to score an impressive $8.2 million on Friday. That gross is in line with recent Denzel Washington movies The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 ($8.2 million) and Unstoppable ($8 million), even though it's at over 1,000 fewer venues. The audience was 51 percent male and 89 percent were 25 years of age or older, and they gave the movie a strong "A-" CinemaScore; Paramount is currently predicting a $23 million opening weekend.

The Man with the Iron Fists opened in third place with an estimated $3 million, which is lower than most comparable titles including Ninja Assassin ($3.3 million on a Wednesday). Universal is expecting $7.6 million for the three-day frame.

Argo eased 24 percent to just under $3 million, which was good for fourth place on Friday. The thriller has now accumulated $68.6 million, and by the end of the weekend it will be pacing ahead of Ben Affleck's The Town.

In fifth place, Taken 2 dipped 30 percent to $1.8 million, bringing its total to $121.5 million.

Cloud Atlas added $1.5 million on Friday for a new total of $14.5 million. That's a 56 percent drop from opening day, which pretty much kills any hope that the movie would hang on strong.

Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo, and follow author Ray Subers at @raysubers.

Related Stories:

Forecast: 'Ralph,' 'Flight' Kick Off Holiday Season This Weekend

Related Chart:

Grosses for Friday, November 2, 2012