“Hotel Transylvania 2” nabs all-time highest debut for September

“Hotel Transylvania 2” made $47.5 million (€42.2 million) on its opening weekend, which makes it the top grossing September release of all time, “not accounting for inflation”.

Both had endured rough patches at ticket booths.

Sandler, once among the most consistently commercial leading men in Hollywood, has suffered a series of flops, such as Blended (2014), That’s My Boy (2012) and Jack And Jill (2011), that have raised questions about his bankability. Sandler’s last film, Pixels, was a big disappointment for Sony this summer at the box office. However, the second chapter reached the biggest opening and Sony “has had all year”, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Like its predecessor, the second film, which features the voices of such celebrities as Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez, was well-received by audiences, especially families.

Meanwhile, the Nancy Meyers comedy The Intern, which stars Oscar winners Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, came in at No. 2 with $18.2 million. Significantly, 55 per cent were over 50-years-old – an audience that doesn’t typically rush out to see films on opening weekend. The film features an impressive supporting cast that includes Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson, Julianne Nicholson, Rory Cochran, and Kevin Bacon, and added just $11.5 million to its $42.6 million gross so far. Meyer’s previous film, 2009’s It’s Complicated started out of the gate at $22 million.

The film’s release strategy entailed an opening limited to premium formats first, in hopes that positive buzz would support the wider release this weekend. Families looking for an animated movie to see together no doubt accounted for a large part of the audience for “Hotel” this past weekend.

The film, starring Adam Sandler, debuted with $13.23 million on Friday and grossed $20.66 million more on Saturday.

“Nancy Meyers has an instant credibility”, said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. executive vice president and general sales manager. After a year of delays, Eli Roth’s “The Green Inferno” finally opened, taking in a solid $3.49 million from only 1,540 screens (everything else in the top five was in at least 3,000 screens). Sony effectively marketed this one and with a lack of kid-friendly films in the coming month until Goosebumps on October 16th, this one seems primed to top the first film’s $148.3 million final domestic take. The Peter Pan origins story opened in Australia two weeks ahead of its North American launch in order to take advantage of school holidays, earning $1.5 million.

Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed crime-thriller Sicario continued to score as it expanded into a total of 59 theaters in its 2nd frame.

In the art house realm, Broad Green bowed housing crisis drama “99 Homes” in two New York theirs, where it earned $32,807, for a per-screen average of $16,403.