Hotel Transylvania 2 sets September U.S. box office record with $47.5m debut
Adam Sandler and Sony finally have something to celebrate.
Their animated feature Hotel Transylvania 2 set a new record for a September opening, raking in $47.5 million over the weekend, Variety reported, beating the previous record of $42.5 million set by Hotel Transylvania in 2012.
The sequel is Sony's biggest opening of the year and Sandler's best movie opening in a decade, only just falling short of being his career best, which remains 2005's The Longest Yard that bowed with $47.6 million.
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Record weekend: Adam Sandler's Hotel Transylvania 2 set a new record for a September opening with $47.5 million, making it Sony's biggest opening of the year and Sandler's second biggest debut ever
Sandler voices Dracula in the film which he co-wrote and co-produced and which also stars the voice talent of Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg and Kevin James.
The once white hot star had suffered a string of flops including Jack And Jill, Blended and the animated movie Pixels that was dead on arrival when it debuted in July.
According to Variety, Hotewl Transylvania 2 is the studio's biggest opening since 22 Jump Street debuted with $57 million in June 2014.
'It’s on it’s way to being one of the most beloved franchises of all time,' Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures president of worldwide distribution, told the trade publication Sunday. 'There are a lot of stories left to tell.'
Box Office monster: The animated sequel broke the September record set by the 2012 original and marks an incredible comeback for Sandler who has had a string of flops including the animated bomb Pixels in July
Repeat success: Selena Gomez returned for the sequel and lent her voice talent again to the character of Mavis
The Intern, starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, opened in second place earning grossing $18.2 million, according to industry estimates.
Last weekend's number one film Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials held on to third place with $14 million, edging out Everest that brought in $13.1 million in its first weekend in wide release.
That tally was below expectations for the adventure drama based on a true story and starring Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal and Jason Clarke.
Eli Roths' The Green Inferno, a low budget horror film about a group of students whose plane crashes in the jungle where they're taken captive by cannibals, opened with $3.5 million.
That brought it into the top 10 movies at number nine.
Sicario, in its second week, expanded from six to 59 theatres and took the number 10 spot.
The drug war thriller starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro earned $1.8 million and goes into wide release next weekend.
New releases: Comedy The Intern, with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, took the number two spot while adventure drama Everest placed fourth in the box office top 10 this weekend
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