While many wondered whether the opportune time had passed to capitalize on the massive success of 2006’s 300 with a sequel, it appears that a sizable audience for the franchise still exists.  300: Rise of an Empire earned an impressive $17.7 million on Friday, and while that won’t come close to 300’s insane $70 million weekend, it should be enough to hit a solid $40-$45 million for the weekend.  Again, that’s a notable feat given the large time gap in between the original film and the pic’s R-rating, but it was no doubt given a boost by 3D ticket prices.  The other new wide release of the weekend was DreamWorks Animation’s Mr. Peabody & Sherman, which debuted with $8 million on Friday and is on track for a modest $30 million weekend.  DreamWorks has been pretty hit and miss at the box office lately, but Peabody and Sherman looks to fall somewhere in between.

On the returning films front, Non-Stop dipped 54% in its second week and took in $4.6 million on Friday, while the Biblical saga Son of God saw a large 70% drop from its opening weekend to a $3.2 million take on Friday.

Title

Friday

Total

1.

300: Rise of an Empire

$17,705,000

$17,705,000

2.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

$8,000,000

$8,000,000

3.

Non-Stop

$4,700,000

$41,439,000

4.

Son of God

$2,700,000

$34,195,000

5.

The LEGO Movie

$2,660,000

$216,627,000