Hotel Transylvania
In a sizeable victory for Sony, 3D toon Hotel Transylvania debuted to $43 million -- the biggest opening since The Dark Knight Rises and the top September bow ever. It's also the best performance to date for the studio's animation unit.
The good news didn't end there. Looper, released by Sony's TriStar label in tandem with FilmDistrict and Endgame Entertainment, took the No. 2 spot with a $21.2 million opening. The performance of the two films propelled Sony to No. 1 in domestic market share with $1.285 billion, edging out Warner Bros., according to Sony.
Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, Hotel Transylvania was fueled by good word of mouth (the film received an A- CinemaScore) and a pent-up demand for family product. The pic's voice cast is led by Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Selena Gomez.
Sony Animation's previous top debut was The Smurfs, which opened to $35.6 million in summer 2011. The previous best September bow was Sweet Home Alabama ($35.6 million).
Hotel Transylvania also scored the biggest September single day in history with $19 million, beating Sweet Home Alabama ($14.7 million). Looper, directed by Rian Johnson and receiving stellar reviews, stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis. Thanks to Hotel Transylvania and Looper, which received a B+ CinemaScore, weekend revenues should be bup 24 percent over last year, ending a post-summer losing streak.
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