'Ted' Talking $51M After $20.2M Friday; 'Magic Mike' Eyes $45M+ as Raunch ... - TheWrap

Movie audiences were ready for some raunch, as R-rated comedies "Ted" and "Magic Mike" debuted explosively Friday at the U.S. box office. 

Universal's "Ted," Seth MacFarlane's tale of a talking teddy bear, made $20.2 million Friday and has a good shot at a $51 million weekend. Warner Bros.' "Magic Mike," Channing Tatum's take on male strippers inspired by his early days as an exotic dancer, was nearly as hot, rolling to $19.4 million Friday and putting itself on pace for than $45 million.

"Family Guy" creator MacFarlane's feature film bow "Ted," starring Mark Wahlberg, far exceeded expectations, which were in the $25 million-$30 million range for the weekend. And word-of-mouth should help on Saturday and Sunday, as audiences gave it an "A-" CinemaScore.

Also read: Raunchy Box-Office Battle: 'Ted,' 'Magic Mike' Gross More Than $2M in Midnight Shows

The same is true for Tatum's "Magic Mike," which went into the weekend with similar expectations, and garnered a "B" CinemaScore from its heavily female-skewing audiences. "Magic Mike," which came with just a $7 million price tag, was a hit going in for Warner Bros., which probably made that in pre-sales.   

Family fare "Brave" and "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" have dominated for the past three weeks, but audiences were plainly ready for something different. Disney's Pixar "Brave," which was No. 1 last week, managed $10.5 million Friday and is looking at roughly $35 million for what is shaping up as a booming pre-July 4 weekend.

Lionsgate's "Tyler Perry's Madea Witness Protection" did $10 million in its first day of release and is on track for $24 million. The weekend's other wide release was the DreamWorks drama 'People Like Us." Writer Alex Kurtzman's directing debut failed to ignite, managing just $1.5 million Friday, which projects to a $4 million weekend.

Focus Features' "Moonrise Kingdom" did $1.7 million in its first day of wide release, which pencils out to a $5.5 million for the three days.

Some holdover films struggled Friday. Fox's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" did $1.9 million and is looking at $6 million for the three days. WB's "Rock of Ages" and Sony's "That's My Boy," both in their third week, took in less than a million dollars.

In the specialty market, Fox Searchlight's "Beasts of the Southern Wild" made the most of its limited debut, rolling up $51,640 from four theaters, for a glossy $12,910 per-screen average.

Earlier ...

There could be a lot of couples splitting up and then meeting back in the lobby after the movie this weekend.

Both Warner Bros.' "Magic Mike" and Universal's "Ted" are tracking very strongly -- with one gender. Channing Tatum's male strippers appear to have the female market locked, though current box office champ "Brave" could factor in. And Seth MacFarlane's potty-mouthed teddy bear looks very big with men.

Whether either will be able to dislodge "Brave" from its perch remains to be seen. Disney's Pixar tale of the highland lass with the dead-eye bow is still the analysts' pick for No.