Movies With Butter

“Think Like A Man,” the big screen adaptation of Steve Harvey’s bestselling book, did suprisingly well at Friday’s box office by grossing an outstanding $12.2M. What's even more amazing is it did it in just 2000 theaters. It could end the weekend with $30-36M. Films targeted at the African-American audience tend to be front loaded, so it could end in the lower end of estimates. Still, what a surprise. "Think Like A Man" received mixed reviews, scoring 49% on the Tomatometer.

Not far behind is “The Lucky One,” a Zac Efron romancer. It swept off enough teen girls to make $9.1M worth of ticket sales, overcoming poor reviews - 21% on the Tomatometer. “The Lucky One” could end the weekend with $25M-$27M. With this, "17 Again," and "High School Musical 3," Efron solidifies himself as a legitimate draw with romances. It also continues author Nicholas Sparks' ("The Notebook," "Dear John") streak of well performing adapted works.

Disney's "Chimpanzee" did a solid $3.5M in just 1,500 theaters. For the weekend, it could do $10M-$12M. With 77% on the Tomatometer, it's easily the best reviewed of the new releases.

Overall, this is a great weekend at the box office, with all three new releases overperforming. It helps that all three films targeted a different demographic. "Think Like A Man" attracted African-Americans, "The Lucky One" drew in teen girls, and "Chimpanzee" appealed to families.

"The Hunger Games," which spent four straight weeks atop the box office, took in $4M on Friday. For the weekend, it's estimated to make $12M, good enough for third place.

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