Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman star in Identity Thief – Photo: Universal
Identity Thief, starring Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman, topped the Friday box office with $11.2 million in sales to beat Warm Bodies and Side Effects.
While east coast movie fans battled the snowstorm Nemo, others around the country made the Universal comedy Identity Thief the top movie heading into the weekend.
Directed by Seth Gordon, starring Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman, Identity Thief won the Friday box office with $11.2 million to clobber last week’s winner Warm Bodies at $3.3 million and Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects at $2.8 million for its debut.
The low Friday box office proved that Nemo kept east coast moviegoers away from theaters as they prepared for the biggest snowstorm in years. With Nemo in play, industry analysts have Identity Thief on track for a weekend total between $28-$30 million.
Rounding out the top five on Friday, Silver Linings Playbook finished fourth for a second straight week with $1.6 million while Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters came fifth with $1.4 million.
Once again the movie critics were out of step with the public on Identity Thief since the comedy received a 25% score at Rotten Tomatoes to the favorable 75% of audiences.
Identity Thief continues a string of unexpected box office surprises in 2013 after the Texas Chainsaw 3D kicked off 2013 with a Friday win before the horror film Mama also became a top movie along with Hansel and Gretel: Witcher Hunters and Warm Bodies
Did you see Identity Thief? What was it like?