Sony's sci-fi action epic Total Recall is in a close race with holdover The Dark Knight Rises at the Friday box office, with each pic on track to gross in the $9 million to $10.5 million range.
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It's possible that Total Recall -- headlining Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel -- could win the Friday race and even cross $11 million, but most observers believe Dark Knight Rises will pull ahead on Saturday and stay atop the domestic box office for a third weekend in a row.
Total Recall, based both on the 1990 Paul Verhoeven film and the short story by Philip K. Dick, is expected to earn in the high-$20 million range for the weekend, while Dark Knight Rises is slotted to gross $31 million to $34 million. Some believe Total Recall also could cross $30 million, though.
The weekend's other new entry is Fox's family pic Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. The threequel is expected to gross $6.5 million to $7.5 million on Friday for a weekend debut north of $17.5 million.
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Research tracking firm NRG continues to advise studios that 20 percent of the moviegoing audience remains skittish about going to see a movie in the wake of the Aurora theater shooting during a midnight screening of Dark Knight Rises on July 20. And the London Olympics are proving a huge draw.
Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Rises, from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, has earned north of $600 million worldwide in its first two weeks, a massive number even though the film continues to pace behind its 2008 predecessor The Dark Knight.
Overseas, Universal's Ted is making headlines as it opens in another 10 markets, including Germany, where it grossed $1.2 million on Thursday to top the box office. And in the U.K., the R-rated comedy from writer-director Seth MacFarlane earned a stellar $5.3 million in its first two days of previews.
Ted has been rolling out slowly overseas, earning an impressive $54.5 million to date.
