Overall, business was up a full 37% compared to Super Bowl weekend last year, continuing a robust 2012 so far. It's the very first time that two titles have earned over $20 million during the pigskin-centric weekend.
Leading the pack is Chronicle, the found footage actioner about a trio of teenagers who acquire telekinetic superpowers, which is estimated to have earned $22 million since Friday. 20th Century Fox, which produced the film for around $12 million, was projecting a weekend performance more in the neighborhood of $8.5 million. Lacking any recognizable stars, that seemed a reasonable expectation for the feature debut of director Josh Trank and writer Max Landis.
Riding a wave of solid reviews, though, Chronicle defied those expectations and brought out young folks. 61% of the film's audience was under the age of 25. Given the superpowers and whatnot, it also skewed male, with 55% of Chronicle attendees rocking Y chromosomes.
The British thriller The Woman in Black, adapted from the novel by Susan Hill, came in second place with an estimated $21 million. That's a big win for Daniel Radcliffe, the 22 year old actor anchoring his first feature outside of the ridiculously successful Harry Potter franchise, which concluded last summer with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The opening suggests that D-Rad, who has spent the last several months starring in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Tryingon Broadway, can effectively open a movie even if it doesn't include wand-waving.
It's also a big win for CBS Films. The distributor picked up North American rights to The Woman in Black for $3 million, making it the fifth release from the outlet and scoring the biggest opening in the distributor's brief history. That distinction was previously held by the 2010 Jennifer Lopez vehicle The Back-Up Plan, which debuted to $12.5 million. It's reasonable to assume a big part of The Woman in Black's performance can be chalked up to Radcliffe, since about 60% of attendees were female and under the age of 25.
The third new release was the highest profile going in to the weekend, but didn't quite make the same impression as Chronicle and The Woman in Black. Big Miracle, a comedic drama inspired by the true story of multinational 1988 effort to save three California grey whales from being trapped in Arctic ice, boasted a crowd-pleasing hook and a likeable cast led by Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski. Still, the Universal release opened in fourth place with $8.5 million in estimated earnings. That's just about in line with the studio's expectations for the film, though, so it's not a disaster or anything.
That just behind last week's number one movie, The Grey, which declined 52% from its first weekend, falling down to third place. The Liam Neeson vs. wolves picture added an estimated $9.5 million for a ten-day total of $34.7 million.
Here are the estimates for the top ten movies in America on the weekend of February 3rd through 5th:
1. Chronicle $22.0 million New Release
2. The Woman in Black $21.0 million New Release
3. The Grey $9.5 million $34.7 million
4. Big Miracle $8.5 million New Release
5. Underworld Awakening $5.6 million $54.3 million
6. One For the Money $5.2 million $19.6 million
7. Red Tails $5.0 million $41.3 million
8. The Descendants $4.6 million $65.5 million
9. Man On a Ledge $4.5 million $14.7 million
10. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close $3.9 million $26.7 million
The upcoming weekend sees a smorgasbord of new releases, including Safe House, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Rampart, The Vow, and the 3D re-release of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
