Box Office - Friday Crowds Get to Know 'Knowing'

The sci-fi flick Knowing jumped out to an early weekend lead over the comedy I Love You, Man by taking in nearly $9 million on Friday, according to Box Office Mojo. Can the new Nicolas Cage movie hold on to the top spot? It was always going to be a close call this weekend, but the three million dollar head start might be enough to give Cage another number one debut. Because so many films this year have posted big debuts on Friday just to have softer returns on Saturday and Sunday, it's possible that Knowing will lose some steam but the percentages still have this one surpassing $20 million without too much trouble. Can I Love You, Man build on its $6.3 million start and take over the top spot? It would need a huge day today to pull even with Knowing, which is playing in 600 more theaters, so while it's possible, comedies don't normally have big spikes in their second days. Both films might top $20 million, which is a better return than Duplicity, the high-profile spy comedy with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts will show in the first weekend. It opened with just under $5 million, so $13 - $15 million seems like the path this one will take. However, considering the weekend-long interest in the NCAA tournament all over the country, the fact that three movies could open between $15 and $25 million further indicates a strong 2009 at the box office, bucking the sluggish numbers in nearly every other sector of the economy. We'll have full weekend numbers tomorrow, although if I had to guess right now, I'd say Knowing should take in around $23 million with I Love You, Man topping out maybe a couple hundred thousand shy of $20 million.