After collecting $10.2 million from its Thursday night previews, Captain America: The Winter Soldier earned an estimated $37 million from 3,938 locations on Friday – setting a new record for the highest domestic opening day in April.  That means that The Winter Soldier should also secure a new weekend record for the month with close to $95 million.  April’s previous box office champ was Fast Five, which took in $34.3 million on its first day and $86.2 million for its first weekend in 2011.

After Thursday’s estimate, it looked like Captain America: The Winter Soldier would have a shot at hitting $100 million in its debut: a number that would put the First Avenger in the company of Batman, Iron Man and other blockbuster superheroes who hit triple digits on their first weekends.  This morning, however, it looks like Captain America will fall short of that mark – though it will still best the $85.7 million debut of Thor: The Dark World last November.  The Winter Soldier has already earned almost $100 million from its international markets since last weekend, which means the Disney/Marvel sequel will be close to $200 million in worldwide grosses after ten days.  That’s already over half of the final global total of 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger – and that’s before China releases its estimate for the sequel’s opening this weekend.  We’ll have full details and the weekend top ten tomorrow.

This weekend will not be a wash for Darren Aronofsky’s Noah.  The controversial biblical epic opened with $15.2 million from 3,500 locations yesterday, including $1.6 million from Thursday pm previews.  That puts Noah on course for close to $44 million through Sunday – well above the $33 million Paramount said it was expecting.  Anything above $43.5 million would also give Russell Crowe the best opening of his career (outside of his supporting turn in Man of Steel).

The weekend’s second major release should also mark a career milestone for star Arnold Schwarzenegger, though not the kind stars typically strive for.  Sabotage – Arnie’s third major release since January 2013 – could end up as his worst debut since Red Sonja, in 1985.  From its 2,486 locations, Sabotage brought in $1.82 million on Friday, which suggests an opening weekend in the $5-$6 million range.  Finally, after two weeks in limited release, director Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel expanded to almost 1,000 locations on Friday, making it into the domestic top five with just under $2.4 million.  We’ll have full details tomorrow.

It’s not exactly The Hunger Games reborn, but Divergent, the latest heir to the YA throne of Katniss and Bella, has pulled in an impressive first day nonetheless.  From 3,936 locations, Divergent earned an estimated $22.8 million, including $4.9 million from its Thursday night previews.  The Lionsgate/Summit release should pull in at least $53 million through Sunday.  That’s on par with studio expectations for the film, but it’s only a third of what The Hunger Games earned on the same weekend in 2012.

Coming in second on Friday was Muppets Most Wanted, the follow-up to Disney’s 2011 Muppet reboot.  The sequel earned an estimated $4.6 million from its 3,194 locations, which should add up to an opening close to $18 million this weekend.  There’s a surprise in third place, in the form of God’s Not Dead.  An independent faith-based feature, God’s Not Dead pulled in a reported $2.8 million from its first day in just 780 venues.  That beat more mainstream holdovers like Mr. Peabody and Sherman and 300: Rise of an Empire on Friday, though God is expected to fall out of the top five this weekend.  Check back for details tomorrow.

DreamWorks Pictures’ Need for Speed took the trophy for the Friday box office, but it’s not exactly a Daytona 500 performance.  The 3D racing film had been projected to win the weekend box office with a total take of $25 million to $30 million, but its Friday number is a soft $6.6 million, on track for a weekend take of $21 million or less.  The streak of subpar video game adaptations continues with director Scott Waugh’s racing pic, which has suffered brutal reviews (it’s both dumb and boring) and failed to muster up enthusiasm from general audiences.  Hot on Need for Speed’s tail is a film in its second week of release, DreamWorks Animation’s Mr. Peabody & Sherman.  While the film was bested by 300: Rise of an Empire last weekend, it brought in $5.4 million this Friday and should enjoy a nice family boost today, topping off at around $22 million for a photo-finish with Need for Speed.  The 300 sequel came in second on Friday with $5.8 million and should gross a solid $18 or $19 million this weekend, while Veronica Mars opened to just over $1 million for the number 9 spot.

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.

It is not often that there is more interest in the film that places second than in the film that comes out on top of the box office, but that is the case this morning with new releases Non-Stop and Son of God.  Although Friday night estimates put the Liam Neeson thriller on top, all eyes are on the biblical upstart.  Son of God was expected to bring in around $15 million in its first three days – a huge win for a film that is basically last year’s TV miniseries The Bible repurposed for the big screen.  But that was before the movie pulled in an astonishing $1.2 million from Thursday night screenings.  Just for context, that is close to what the hit Bad Grandpa earned from its own pre-release previews last October, although it’s hard to imagine Son of God’s audience sharing much else with the Jackass crowd.

Even with official estimates for Non-Stop and Son of God so close on Friday, weekend projections still fall in the former’s favor.  The thriller is now expected to bring in close to $30 million through Sunday, with Son of God a close second with $29 million.  Could the religious feature pull out the win?  Safe to say that stranger things have happened.

Two new action-oriented titles hit domestic theatres on Friday, though neither of them had the muscle to knock down The LEGO Movie.  The Warner Bros. hit will claim its third consecutive first place finish this weekend with a projected take of $30 million.  In terms of new titles, 3 Days to Kill was in the best shape.  The latest thriller from Taken producer Luc Besson opened in second place with an estimated $4 million from 2,872 locations, putting 3 Days on track for around $12 million through Sunday.

The news for Pompeii was not as promising.  The historical disaster pic from director Paul WS Anderson brought in an estimated $3.4 million from 2,658 locations (many of those in 3D and other large formats) on Friday.  Even with its price-point advantage, Pompeii is facing an opening weekend just shy of $10 million.  That’s a bit higher than The Legend of Hercules brought in from its January debut, but not quite the $15 million that producers were hoping for.  We’ll have complete box office coverage tomorrow.

Severe weather may have kept Sony’s Robocop remake down to $2.8 million on its Wednesday debut, but the domestic box office rebounded in time for Valentine’s Day on Friday.  With one massive holdover and four new releases, this should be one of the biggest President’s Day holidays since 2010 – the last time that February 14^th  landed on a weekend.  The date proved an asset for Universal’s Endless Love, which narrowly beat out Robocop for third place with an estimated $7.3 million.  About Last Night, the romantic comedy reboot starring Kevin Hart, had an even bigger debut: taking in $13 million from 2,253 locations, or just short of first place.  Warner Bros.’ romantic drama Winter’s Tale was not as fortunate, opening in seventh place with $3.65 million.

Even with all the competition, The LEGO Movie will have no trouble holding on to the top spot for a second week.  The animated hit is expected to earn another $45 million this weekend and a total of $60 million for the four-day holiday.  About Last Night will stay in second place with about $35 million through Sunday, with Endless Love and Robocop both projected to come in below $20 million.  We’ll have full details tomorrow.

This year’s Super Bowl box office will be even more muted than usual, which is good news for a handful of holdovers.  Ride Along took first place on Friday with $4 million and is now poised for a third straight box office victory.  The Universal comedy should bring in about $12 million this weekend, an indication of how soft this year’s Super Bowl weekend looks.

The highest-grossing new release, That Awkward Moment, was a very close second yesterday, and is expected to earn approximately $10 million through Sunday.  That’s positively robust compared to Labor Day, the frame’s second new title.  The Jason Reitman  release earned just $1.93 million on its first day in 2,589 locations and should end the weekend in the $5 million range.  Finally, after an incredible ten weeks in the top five, Frozen is still going strong.  Thanks to a new sing-a-long version of the film, which hit 2,000-plus venues on Friday, Disney’s massive holiday hit should add another $9 million to its domestic total by Sunday.

After it’s record-breaking debut last weekend, Ride Along will have no trouble staying in first place in its sophomore frame.  The Universal comedy earned an estimated $6.3 million from 2,759 locations on Friday and is expected to take in over $20 million through Sunday.  Second place will also belong to Universal, as Lone Survivor continues to over perform entering its third frame.

The fact that two holdovers are on top should clue you in to the fate of the week’s one and only new release: I, Frankenstein.  The latest take on Mary Shelley’s monster is from the producers of Underworld – a series that found a comfortable home in January with its last three features.  From 2,753 venues (almost all of them in higher-priced 3D or IMAX formats), I, Frankenstein earned an estimated $2.8 million on Friday.  That sets the film’s weekend outlook at $8 million or under, or less than half what Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters brought in at this time last year.  We’ll have complete box office details tomorrow.

On this very crowded MLK Day weekend, Ride Along is by far the strongest new title.  The comedy took first place on Friday with an estimated $14.5 million and is now expected to pull in $39 million through Sunday and $45 million for the four-day holiday.  That’s significantly higher than projected and puts the Universal comedy in the running for both the all-time January and MLK Day opening records.  At the moment, both titles still belong to 2008’s Cloverfield.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit opened in third place on Friday with an estimated $5.43 million.  That’s a disappointing start for Paramount’s latest take on the Tom Clancy hero, which was expected to top $20 million in its first three days.  Instead, look for Shadow Recruit to come in with just under that by the end of the four-day weekend.  Devil’s Due took in an estimated $3.5 million yesterday.  The supernatural horror film was expected to hit $15 million through Monday, but $9 million now seems more likely.  Finally, The Nut Job earned $4.8 million on Friday, towards what looks like $25 million in four days.  Should this critically-savaged animated film come out that far ahead of Jack Ryan, it would mark quite an upset – differing demographics notwithstanding.

Of the five movies opening nationwide as of Friday, only one was brand new – and it’s looking like a bit of a weakling.  The Legend of Hercules, the first of two movies this year to star the mythic strong man, opened to a disappointing $3 million from 2,104 locations.  That means that Hercules is likely to fall short of its (very modest) $10 million goal this weekend.  Considering Hercules is currently rocking a 2% on Rotten Tomatoes, however, things could be worse for the son of Zeus.

Among the four titles expanding their runs this weekend, the clear winner is Lone Survivor.  After two weeks in two locations, Universal’s military drama took in an estimated $14.4 million from 2,876 locations on Friday.  That puts Lone Survivor on track for first place with about $34 million this weekend.  That’s well above the $24 million originally projected and tops the $24.4 million that Zero Dark Thirty realized after its nationwide expansion at this time last year.

Friday numbers for Her and August: Osage County after the jump:

We’ve seen five new releases in three last three days, but not one of them are playing for first place this weekend.  In fact, only one of them made it into Friday’s top five (The Wolf of Wall Street), and two of them missed the top ten altogether.  The real action this weekend is between blockbuster holdovers The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Frozen.  Estimates put Disney in front on Friday, though it looks like Bilbo may still be able to pull off a third weekend on top of the domestic box office.  Here’s a look at the top ten, as of Friday’s estimates.

Details after the jump.

Tis’ the season of plenty at the box office.  At least eight major titles will open or expand in the seven days before Christmas, with Anchorman 2: The Legend of Ron Burgundy kicking off the festivities last Wednesday.  I’m sure you know by now that Paramount’s sequel is kind of a big deal.  So it made sense that Anchorman 2 got the win on Friday, taking in an estimated $8.7 million from 3,507 locations.  That puts Ron Burgundy on track for about $29 million for the three-day weekend: on par with the original Anchorman’s $28.4 million launch in July 2004.

But that won’t be enough to knock Bilbo off of his weekend throne.  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug earned an estimated $8.6 million on Friday, and is expected to pull in over $31 million on its sophomore frame.  After earning one of the highest per-screen averages of all-time with its limited launch last weekend, American Hustle claimed an estimated $5.1 million after expanding its run to 2,507 venues.  Also expanding on Friday after its (slightly less impressive) limited bow last week, Disney’s Saving Mr. Banks brought in almost $3 million on its first day in 2,110 locations – well ahead of the $2.1 million Fox’s Walking With Dinosaurs realized from its first day in 3,231 venues.   We’ll have complete details on the weekend box office tomorrow.

The second film in Peter’s Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy will open lower than its predecessor, as expected.  The Desolation of Smaug took in an estimated $31.1 million from 3,903 locations on Friday, including $8.8 million from midnight previews.  That puts the sequel on track for around $75 million this weekend.  At this time last year, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey took in $37.1 million on Friday and $84 million in its first three days – a record for a December launch.  Few expected the second film to equal those numbers, so a debut of $75 million should be enough to avoid the ‘disappointing’ label.

Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas will have to shoulder this weekend’s disappointment all on its own.  The fifth film featuring the popular Perry character took in an estimated $5.7 million on Friday, on its way to a first weekend total of $17 million.  That would make Christmas the first Madea film to open below $25 million, not to mention one of the lower openings of Tyler Perry’s career.  We’ll have complete details tomorrow