'The Grey' Leads US Weekend Pack

JAN 30, 2012 - The Grey gave its upstart distributor Open Road Films their first number one debut this weekend. Meanwhile, One For the Money had an okay opening that exceeded most expectations, while Man On A Ledge was the latest mid-range Summit movie to underperform. The Top 12 grossed an estimated US$99.4 million, which is up 7.6 per cent from the same time period last year.

The Grey devoured an estimated US$20 million this weekend. Among star Liam Neeson's recent action movies, The Grey opened lower than Taken's US$24.7 million and also a tad below Unknown (US$21.9 million).

Last weekend's winner Underworld Awakening dipped 51 percent to an estimated US$12.5 million.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for Jan 27-29, 2012 weekend, in terms of rank, (previous week ranking), Movie name (studio), Weekend takings in USD, (Cumulative gross, USD) and week on chart, courtesy of Boxofficemojo. (US$1=RM3)

1. (-) The Grey (Open Road Films) $20.0 million ($20.0 million) 1

2. (1) Underworld Awakening (SGem) $12.5 million ($45.1 million) 2

3. (-) One For the Money (LGF) $11.7 million ($11.7 million) 1

4. (2) Red Tails (Fox) $10.4 million ($33.7 million) 2

5. (-) Man on a Ledge (Sum.) $8.3 million ($8.3 million) 1