MANILA, Oct. 01, 2012 – Monsters had a ball at the Philippine box office as Columbia Pictures’ animated comedy “Hotel Transylvania” opened at No.1, with a nationwide gross of a blood-curdling P25.42-million in three days for the Sept. 28-30 frame. This was announced today by Victor R. Cabrera, managing director of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
The family-oriented 3D crowd-pleaser now holds the distinction of having the biggest opening ever from Sony Pictures Animation whose past big hits include “Surf’s Up” and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.”
In the U.S., “Hotel Transylvania” also captured the No. 1 crown at $43 million. It’s likewise the biggest hit for Sony Pictures Animation, surpassing the $31 million opening of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” back in 2009 as well as setting a new September opening record, which was previously held by Reese Witherspoon’s “Sweet Home Alabama” for ten years with $35.6 million.
The film is also Adam Sandler’s second biggest opening after his 2005 remake of “The Longest Yard.” The movie is Sony’s eighth No. 1 movie for the year and it pushes them back into the lead in terms of market share.
Back in the Philippines, “Hotel Transylvania” bowed in 142 screens, including 25 3D cinemas. Power Plant Mall posted the highest sales at P1.72-M, while SM Mall of Asia and Trinoma were the runners-up at P1.43-M and P1.18-M, respectively.
Two more cinemas performed over the one million mark – Eastwood at P1,028,975 and SM North EDSA at P1,028,061.
Rounding out the Top Ten are SM Megamall (P798,386), Greenbelt 3 (P715,977), Market! Market! (P692,293), Glorietta 4 (P642,273) and Alabang Town Center (P549,087).
The 11th to 20th rankings are occupied are Newport Cinema (P506,802), Ayala Center Cebu (P427,720), Robinsons Manila (P410,404), Robinsons Galleria (P394,347), Robinsons Magnolia (P391,922), Greenhills (P387,860), SM Marikina (P370,900), Harborpoint (P365,392), Shang Cineplex (P359,260) and SM Fairview (P354,636).
In the film, “Hotel Transylvania” is Dracula’s lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up, free to be the monsters they are without humans to bother them. On one special weekend, Dracula (voice of Adam Sandler) has invited some of his best friends – Frankenstein and his bride, the Mummy, the Invisible Man, the Werewolf family, and more – to celebrate his beloved daughter Mavis’s 118th birthday. In the vampire world, that signals the time to break out from the sanctuary. For Drac, catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem – but everything could change for the overprotective dad when one ordinary guy stumbles on the hotel and takes a shine to Mavis (voice of Selena Gomez).
Now playing across the Philippines in Digital 3D, 2D and regular theaters, “Hotel Transylvania” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.
