"Hotel Transylvania" Sets Record with $43 Million Debut - East Idaho News
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“Hotel Transylvania” Sets Record with $43 Million Debut

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Getty 092311 MovieOpening?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1349085945819iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Hotel Transylvania had a monster weekend at the box office.  The animated film, featuring Adam Sandler as the voice of Dracula, earned an estimated $43 million to open in first place.

Hotel Transylvania set a record for the highest-grossing September debut, surpassing the $35.7 million raised by the Reese Witherspoon romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama in 2002.

It’s important to keep in mind, though, that ticket prices are higher today than they were a decade ago.  Sweet Home Alabama actually sold more tickets during its opening weekend than Hotel Transylvania did over the past three days.

The Joseph Gordon-Levitt-Bruce Willis thriller Looper premiered in second place, collecting $21.2 million. In its first weekend in theaters, the comedy Pitch Perfect ranked sixth, with $5.2 million.  It expands into wide release later this week. The Viola Davis-Maggie Gyllenhaal drama Won’t Back Down bowed in 10th place, with $2.7 million.

Here are the top 10 movies from Friday through Sunday, with estimated ticket sales, according to Hollywood.com:

1. Hotel Transylvania, $43 million
2. Looper, $21.2 million
3. End of Watch, $8 million
4. Trouble with the Curve, $7.5 million
5. House at the End of the Street, $7.2 million
6. Pitch Perfect, $5.2 million
7. Finding Nemo, $4.1 million
8. Resident Evil: Retribution, $3 million
9. The Master, $2.75 million
10. Won’t Back Down, $2.7 million

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