Hotel Transylvania and Looper Top Two At US Box Office

Two SFX films, Hotel Transylvania and Looper, have not only claimed the two top spots on the US movie charts this weekend, but they’ve also outperformed industry expectations.

The Genndy (Samurai Jack) Tartakovsky-directed animated film Hotel Transylvania has, amazingly, given Adam Sandler another number one box office hit to add to his list. He plays Dracula in the film about a holiday retreat for monsters.

According to studio estimates Hotel Transylvania made an estimated $43 million in North America in its opening weekend, making it the biggest hit ever for Sony Pictures Animation, surpassing the $31 million opening of 2009’s Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. (It’s also Sandler’s second biggest opening – no jokes about his gob please – after 2005’s The Longest Yard).

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Looper.

Director Rian Johnson’s Looper, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt, opened in second place with an estimated $21.2 million. The movie was also a huge hit in China, where it opened at number one, earning between $23 and $25 million in its opening weekend – apparently, it’s very rare for a US film to open bigger in a foreign territory than it did at home.

Congrats to them both – they deserve the success!

• Four clips from Hotel Transylvania
• Looper review
• Looper’s bizarre animated trailer