Friday featured the domestic debut of Len Wiseman’s Total Recall reboot which many expected to be handily beaten by The Dark Knight Rises (now in its third week.) Strangely enough, it did not go down that way at all as the remake of the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic made a few more waves than originally anticipated.
The $125 million-actioner managed to gross $9.2 million compared to Batman’s $10.4 million on the day. Anything close to eight figures for Recall was considered a win as many perceived this one to be a dud and therefore a big write-off for Sony who backed the Colin Farrell-led effort. This will no longer be the case assuming the reason the studio accepted the actor for the lead pays off–his international bankability.
In regards to The Dark Knight Rises, the film has been halved week-to-week suggesting that the blockbuster’s retention is not yet setting in. This trilogy capper is now at $328.6 million domestic and $576.8 million worldwide. Expect an update on the foreign figures to drive that number past $600 million by the end of the weekend.
Just to round things out, Friday had another new entrant in the form of Diary of a Wimpy Kid 3 which found $5.9 million on its opening day. This performance was markedly down from the franchise norm of over $7 million achieved by both of Dog Days’ predecessors on non-summer Fridays.
Related:
‘Total Recall’ Reboot Budget Lower Than Earlier Reported: $125 Million, Not $200 Million
‘Total Recall’ Reboot Reviews Are Bad, But Roger Ebert Backs It