Box Office Report: Early Friday Returns Show 'Pacific Rim,' 'Grown Ups 2' in Tight Race

There's a fierce race going on at the North American box office as Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim and Adam Sandler comedy Grown Ups 2 jockey for position.

Universal's Despicable Me 2, however, could beat both and stay at No. 1 in its second weekend with a gross as high as $48 million.

PHOTOS: 'Pacific Rim' Premiere: Big Robots Bring Out the Big Stars

Defying soft prerelease tracking, Pacific Rim is certainly doing better than expected, but the film could see a precipitous drop-off on Saturday once fanboy traffic slows. It took in $3.6 million in Thursday night shows, with 23 percent coming from fanboy-friendly Imax theaters.

Some believe the 3D sci-fi epic, from Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., could gross in the mid-$40 million range for the weekend, though most box-office experts believe it will top out at between $35 million and $40 million, a so-so number considering the tentpole's $190 million-plus budget.

Sony's Grown Ups 2 is tipped to debut in the $40 million range and earned a surprisingly strong $2.3 in Thursday night runs. The sequel, costing $80 million to produce, opens three years after the original film turned into a box-office hit, bowing to $40.5 million and ultimately grossing $271.4 million worldwide.

The ensemble comedy, receiving blistering reviews, reteams Sandler with Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolph and Maria Bello.

Prerelease tracking for Pacific Rim was notably soft, but Warners and Legendary say stellar reviews and word of mouth are fueling a better-than-expected performance. Legendary took the lead on the movie, including paying for most of the budget.

STORY: 'Pacific Rim' Director Guillermo del Toro: 'Post-Conversion 3D Can Be Great'

Pacific Rim, pitting giant robots against alien monsters, stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi and Charlie Day.

Overseas, Pacific Rim is off to a strong start in Asia, Russia and Argentina, though it fared dismally in Australia on Thursday, coming in No. 4 behind the the opening day of The Heat, Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University (the two animated films are benefiting from school holidays).

Pacific Rim grossed $7.8 million from 25 markets on Thursday, led by Russia with $2 million. It also prospered across Asia, taking in $1.5 million in South Korea, marking Warners' third-largest opening day of all time in that market.

VIDEO: 'Pacific Rim's' Charlie Hunnam Says Filming Was Like Running on Worst Elliptical Ever

So far internationally, the epic is outpacing a slew of films that went on to gross between $300 million and $400 million overseas, including Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Clash of the Titans and Prometheus. It's also pacing on par with World War Z, which has earned more than $200 million to date at the foreign box office.

Pacific Rim opens just as Thomas Tull's Legendary and Warners prepare to part ways. This week, Legendary announced it had struck a new co-financing and production deal with Universal.

Despicable 2 has already earned well north of $316 million worldwide.

'Pacific Rim' Director Guillermo del Toro: 'Post-Conversion 3D Can Be Great'

On the eve of his first movie release in five years, Guillermo del Toro was giddy during a Thursday night screening of Pacific Rim at LACMA.

The Mexican director, who has garnered acclaim for his work on Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy franchise, spoke to a sellout crowd about all things Pacific Rim and even delved into some personal anecdotes.

In an honest and hilarious moment, del Toro recounted his earliest memories of monsters, which inspired his latest film's ferocious Kaiju.

VIDEO: Guillermo del Toro on a Possible Sequel for 'Pacific Rim'

"When I was a child, I would wake up and dream that I was awake in the room I was in and I would see real creatures in my bedroom," he explained. "But for a child, that was really hard to process. I was afraid to step out of the crib because my parents had this green shaggy rug, so when I looked through the crib, I saw this sea of waving green fingers waiting for me to land and they would pull me down. So I peed."

Following the screening, when del Toro was introduced for a Q&A, he received a long standing ovation from the crowd, many of whom are subscribers to the Film Independent or LACMA communities.

"I wanted this to work as a summer movie and have the staple of characters that you'd expect but try to at least do something different, " he admitted. "Everything is a political aesthetic choice."

Pacific Rim, from Warner Bros. and Legendary, stars Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Ron Perlman. It follows a group of people who create giant robots to fight off the invading megamonsters from the sea.

"I didn't want to celebrate the machines as cold, polished surfaces or to live in this gorgeous neon world where everybody is a waspy crew-cut guy. I mean, there's a single country saving the world all the time, and the aliens get one single map -- they go to New York!"

PHOTOS: 'Pacific Rim' Premiere: Big Robots Bring Out the Big Stars

Though the film was subject to bad tracking early on and drew comparisons to Michael Bay's Transformers franchise, del Toro insists his film balances substance and style while evoking nostalgia.

"The toughest thing in this movie was to keep the simplicity amidst all its complexity," he says. "I wanted it to function on both levels to make it a throwback. I tried to pattern it after adventure films with rangers and marshals waiting at outposts, riding the Jaegers [robots] into battle."

Del Toro also made a selling point for 3D during his post-screening talk: "The scale is mythical, a disregard for human scale, and it's a huge change to see it in 3D. You have to see it on the most obscenely large screen. I wanted to make this movie as a case for post-conversion of 3D can be great."

Yet for all his serious and intellectual musings on his own craft, del Toro still found time to poke fun at himself and his decisions.

On the meaning of the Pacific Rim title, del Toro jokes, "We've heard all the jokes. We would give the porn industry a winner. Someone will get nominated for an AVN award."

The film opens in theaters July 12.

Box Office Report: 'Pacific Rim' Opens to $3.6 Million Thursday Night; 'Grown Ups 2' Nabs $2.3 Million

Fanboys turned out in strong numbers Thursday night to see Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim, taking in $3.6 million to match the start of World War Z, which went on to gross $66.4 million for the weekend.

From Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, Pacific Rim made headlines as it opened in Asia on Thursday, grossing $3.8 million from seven markets. The 3D sci-fic epic outpaced a slew of films that went on to gross between $300 million and $400 million internationally.

The news from Australia, which often mirrors the U.S. in terms of playability, was more troubling. Pacific Rim grossed a soft $666,000 as it opened on Thursday, coming in No. 4 behind Despicable Me 2, the opening day of The Heat and Monsters University (with school holidays, Despicable 2 and Monsters U are thriving).

Sony's ensemble Adam Sandler comedy Grown Ups 2 didn't do too shabby either as it likewise began rolling out in North America Thursday night, grossing an impressive $2.3 million. That's a great result for a comedy and easily bested the $1 million earned Thursday night by box-office pleaser The Heat.

PHOTOS: 'Pacific Rim' Premiere: Big Robots Bring Out the Big Stars

Box-office experts are divided as to whether Pacific Rim can overcome poor tracking. Based on prerelease tracking, they believe it may only open in the $30 million range, a financially precarious beginning for a movie that cost at least $190 million to produce (Legendary took the lead on the project and paid for the majority of the budget).

But WB and Legendary believe Pacific Rim could gross well north of $40 million, based on strong reviews and the buzz on social media. The big question will be how much Pacific Rim drops. A fanboy-driven film often will do especially big business on Friday but see substantial declines as the weekend progresses. That won't be the case if Pacific Rim can lure families as well.

Pacific Rim, pitting giant robots against alien monsters, stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi and Charlie Day.

Imax theaters should do big business, with 23 percent of Thursday night's gross coming from Imax locations ($835,000). Overall, 52 percent of the $3.6 million came from 3D locations, including Imax.

Pacific Rim opens just as Thomas Tull's Legendary and Warners prepare to part ways. Earlier this week, Legendary announced it has struck a new co-financing and production deal with Universal.

Sony's Grown Ups 2, with a budget of $80 million, opens three years after the original film turned into a box-office hit, opening to $40.5 million and ultimately grossing $271.4 million worldwide.

The ensemble comedy -- receiving blistering reviews -- reteams Sandler with Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolph and Maria Bello. Grown Ups 2 had an abysmal 3 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of Thursday afternoon.

Sony insiders believe the sequel will open in the same range as the 2010 film.

Universal's megahit Despicable Me 2 could easily stay at No. 1 in its second weekend. The 3D animated tentpole has already earned north of $165 million domestically and over $316 million worldwide.

Trailer Report: 'Despicable Me' Becomes Most Watched of Week, 'Pacific Rim' Hits Top Ten

Matching its strong opening weekend, Universal's Despicable Me 2 was the most viewed trailer for the first week of July.

Universal's continuing animated story about a super villain (voiced by Steve Carell) who adopts three girls, the sequel to 2010's original, recorded 7.6 million views, more than doubling the No. 2 finisher, Fast & Furious 6.

PHOTOS: 26 of Summer's Most Anticipated Movies

The Vin Diesel-Paul Walker car epic recorded 2.6 million views for its preview. The movie, which opened in the U.S. on May 24 and has grossed $695 million worldwide, is continuing to roll out to new foreign territories.

No. 3 finisher Man of Steel recorded 1.3 million views, half as much as the one ahead of it on the list.

The next six slots are all head by fall releases, except for World War Z in the No. 7 spot.

STORY: 'Despicable Me 2': 5 Things to Know About the Minions

Interest in Thor: The Dark World (32 million lifetime views) and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (36 million lifetime) remains strong.

Pacific Rim, the monster movie from Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, which opens July 12, was the only new film to enter the list, coming it at No. 10.

The movie has been tracking softly, raising questions about its box office potential. The uptick in trailer views might indicate a stronger-than-expected opening for the movie.

Twitter: @sajilpl

Monsters, Robots and Tom Cruise: Inside the 'Pacific Rim' Premiere

From left: Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Hunnam and Charlie Day
Pacific Rim, Legendary and Warner Bros.’ monsters vs. mechs tentpole directed by Guillermo del Toro, stomped into Hollywood on Tuesday night with a premiere screening at the Dolby Theatre.

The movie brought out del Toro collaborators such as director Alfonso Cuaron and Lost co-creator Carlton Cuse as well as Tom Cruise, who graciously allowed himself to be mobbed by fans in the Dolby’s lobby.

PHOTOS: 'Pacific Rim' Premiere: Big Robots Bring Out the Big Stars

Cruise's appearance, coupled with news breaking that Legendary was signing a term deal with Universal, fueled speculation among geeks that del Toro could once again try mounting his passion project, At the Mountains of Madness. (Cruise was in talks to star in the project before it was killed by Universal in 2011.)

Rim played extremely well in the theater, which was filled with not only Hollywood types but members of the general public, who were no doubt unaware of the hand-wringing going on among studio execs over the movie’s low tracking numbers and certain media reports discounting the movie’s box-office chances.

At the premiere's afterparty, held in a nearby parking lot converted to look like a setting from the movie, del Toro told The Hollywood Reporter that he tries to focus on his job as a filmmaker and push any swirling speculation to the side.

“To me, the duties as a filmmaker, from Cronos [his first feature] to now, are the same,” he said. “Does it look bigger than its budget? Yes. Did I put all the production value on the screen? Yes. Does it have original visual ideas and a new way of looking at a mythology? Yes. Was I fiscally responsible? Yes. That’s it. After that, it’s inside baseball. And I don't play inside baseball.”

On another side of the party, beyond glass cases filled with the movie’s armored costumes and hosts peddling Patron-infused ice cream sandwiches, star Charlie Hunnam mingled with new Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara and newly named Warner Bros. Pictures president Greg Silverman.

FILM REVIEW: Pacific Rim

Hunnam noted the movie goes against the grain in a summer filled with sequels, reboots and branded entertainment.

“In this landscape of filmmaking, I feel that to have something original is really refreshing,” he said. “It’s a lot harder to sell, and here you have to explain the whole breadth of this world. Word of mouth is the holy grail of advertising, and hopefully word of mouth will be really good and get people coming in.”

Rim is del Toro’s first movie since 2008’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army, but for not for lack of trying. The filmmaker was at one time set to direct The Hobbit, then Madness, but he wound up doing neither, for different reasons, which he called “the most fortuitous accidents in my life.”

His movies until now have ranged from low-budget to moderate, and Rim, on a technical and budgetary (between $175 million to $200 million) scale, marks a big jump for him.

“Logistically, prepping to do The Hobbit and prepping to do At the Mountains of Madness strangely enough were like cardio preparing for weightlifting," he said. "I got in shape.”

Pacific Rim opens in theaters Friday.

Twitter: @sajilpl

Canada's Cineplex Offers 'SuperTicket' for 'Pacific Rim'

TORONTO – Canadian exhibitor Cineplex is betting cinema-goers will pre-buy a digital copy of Guillermo del Toro’s action flick Pacific Rim as they purchase a theater ticket.

The Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures movie is the first choice for Cineplex’s SuperTicket, where it bundles a cinema ticket and a pre-order to receive a cloud-based UltraViolet version of the same movie.

A Pacific Rim SuperTicket will cost $19.99 for a standard definition digital download, or $24.99 for a high definition digital download, plus the cost of the theatrical movie ticket.

ANALYSIS: What 'Pacific Rim's' Fate Means for Legendary and Warner Bros.

Cineplex is pacting with Warner Bros. Entertainment on SuperTicket sales of Pacific Rim, which opens Friday on theatrical release country-wide.The pre-ordered digital version of Pacific Rim will be available before the DVD and Blu-ray release date, and SuperTicket purchasers will get the first UltraViolet version releases.

Del Toro shot Pacific Rim in Toronto, and backs the bundling initiative. “SuperTicket is an intriguing way to extend the movie-going experience beyond the theatre,” said del Toro in a statement Thursday.

“Fans of Pacific Rim will enjoy early access to the UltraViolet title and exclusive content that really gets to the bottom of the inspiration behind the film and how it was made,” he added.

The bundled offering includes bonus content on del Toro’s unique approach to monster films, and a primer on the origins of two Japanese cinema creations, the Kaiju and Mecha. ?

Pacific Rim stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Rob Kazinsky.

In June, Paramount, along with Regal Entertainment Group, launched a “mega ticket” for Brad Pitt’s World War Z at a cost of $50.00.

Guillermo del Toro Rallies Fans to Counter Negative 'Pacific Rim' Press

Guillermo del Toro is rallying his rabid fan base and telling them not to worry about negative press for his latest movie, the monsters-vs.-robots tentpole Pacific Rim.

“We just need to keep working. Our numbers are going up. Not in a minor way. Significant. We are on the right track,” del Toro wrote on the forum of Deltorofilms.com, which bills itself as the official fan site of the filmmaker.

The thread was under the topic “Buzz and ‘Word of Mouth’" and followed Wednesday’s posting of a Variety article, the headline for which blared, "Is Pacific Rim Doomed to be This Year’s Battleship?"

PHOTOS: Giant Robots vs. Giant Monsters: 6 New 'Pacific Rim' Posters

Pacific Rim is a big bet for Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., with early tracking numbers suggesting the movie could have a soft opening. But Pacific Rim doesn’t open until July 12, which gives the Warners marketing machine time to raise awareness among U.S. audiences. The studio overcame soft early tracking for The Great Gatsby to launch it with a $50 million opening and had even more success with Man of Steel, which bowed to $200 million in global box office.

Legendary is on the hook for 75 percent of the movie, which cost between $180 million and $200 million to make (Warners has the other 25 percent). The movie, which features monsters fighting mechas, is also one of rare tentpoles that is an original and fresh property and not based on a comic or a sequel.

Pacific Rim is opening against Grown Ups 2, the comedy starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Chris Rock, which is eyeing a $40 million opening, according to early tracking.

PHOTOS: 26 of Summer's Most Anticipated Movies

Del Toro acknowledges that sequels have an edge going in.

“Whatever sequel opens will have, by definition, higher awareness and numbers across the board, but we are moving strongly in the right direction,” he writes.

In January, Universal's Mama, a horror movie that del Toro produced, didn't track very well initially and was projected to open around $18 million. The movie overperformed by opening to $28 million. Latino families, often undercounted by traditional tracking services, were one factor in the success.

Tracking has proved to be a bit of an unreliable indicator this summer. On top of Gatsby, World War Z had its numbers revised upward several times as it surpassed expectations.

"We are working on it,” del Toro wrote. “We concentrated on the core for a long time -- but we are barely started on the campaign. I am seeing the ads now and I am seeing outdoors and we are now supplementing what we did with character or tone. Thank you all for your good faith and love.”

Del Toro is one of a handful of filmmakers who has a deep and devoted fan base dating back to his Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth films. He also takes time to connect with his audience and is known for his self-deprecating and genial nature as well as his childlike glee for movies.

How else to explain this reaction from a devoted fan named ShanghaiShock: “If Pacific Rim loses to Grown Ups 2 in the box office, I'm going to head over to the marketing department of every studio that has a share of Pacific Rim and I will personally gut every single person in the marketing department.”

Twitter: @sajilpl