'Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2' wins Friday with $9.3 million

Sony’s $78 million sequel Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 pulled in $9.3 million on its Friday debut, putting it at the top of the box office. The film will easily outgross the original Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs‘ $30.2 million debut, though it will likely miss the $40 million mark that most prognosticators assumed it would reach this weekend. Cloudy 2 should make it rain to the tune of about $35 million.

In second place, Ron Howard’s Formula One racing drama Rush drove away with $3.7 million on Friday after expanding from five theaters into 2,297 locations. The film, which stars Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl, should score about $11 million this weekend — a big step down form Howard’s last sports drama, Cinderella Man, which punched up $18.3 million in 2005.

Last weekend’s champion, Prisoners, unlocked another $3.4 million, which should yield about $11 million over the weekend frame. The film was expected to notch a slightly better hold, but there’s heavy competition for adult audiences this weekend from Rush and Don Jon.

Speaking of Don Jon, the Joseph Gordon-Levitt indie opened with $3.3 million on Friday, and it may take in about $9.5 million in its opening weekend. The film opened slightly above Baggage Claim, which also earned $3.3 million and could gross about $9 million in its first weekend.

1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 – $9.3 million

2. Rush – $3.7 million

3. Prisoners – $3.4 million

4. Don Jon – $3.3 million

5. Baggage Claim – $3.3 million

Check back tomorrow for the full box office report