Hotel Transylvania sequel has topped the US box office with $47.5 million on its opening weekend.
The animation movie’s debut is the biggest September opening of all time.
Hotel Transylvania 2 breaks a record held by its predecessor Hotel Transylvania, which opened to $42.5 million in 2012, according to figures from Rentrak.
The story of a hotel for monsters, it features the voices of Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez and Mel Brooks.
The Intern, with Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, was at No 2 with $18.2 million.
Written and directed by Nancy Meyers, the office-based comedy stars Robert De Niro as an intern at a fashion website run by Anne Hathaway’s character.
Hotel Transylvania 2‘s success was attributed to early excitement for Halloween and the movie’s broad family appeal, with relatively little competition in the kids’ market until The Peanuts Movie is released in November.
The animation’s $47.5 million takings also far exceeded the studio’s expectations and industry projections, which were between $32-37 million, according to the LA Times.
Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president at Warner Bros, called The Intern “a real hit”, appealing to fans of Nancy Meyers’ previous films such as The Holiday and Something’s Gotta Give.
The audience was 62% female – with 55% of them over the age of 50, not an audience which typically sees films on opening weekend.
Teen sci-fi adventure Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials – last week’s top film in the US and Canada – was in third place with $14 million.
Mountaineering disaster movie Everest, which was only available at IMAX and premium 3D screens last weekend, was in fourth with $13.1 million after expanding to cinemas nationwide.
Eli Roth’s low budget horror Green Inferno opened at nine with $3.5 million.
Drug war thriller Sicario – starring Emily Blunt – managed to make it into the top 10 with $1.8 million from just 59 cinemas, a week ahead of its full US release.
Top 10 North American box office:
- Hotel Transylvania 2 – $47.5 million
- The intern – $18.2 million
- Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials – $14 million
- Everest – $13.1 million
- Black Mass – $11.5 million
- The Visit – $6.7 million
- The Perfect Guy – $4.8 million
- War Room – $4.3 million
- The Green Inferno – $3.5 million
- Sicario – $1.8 million
