'Real Steel' Proves Its Mettle: Box Office Report October 7-9

'Real Steel' might be your typical underdog tale (besides the giant robots), however it did not become an underdog in the box office. Hugh Jackman's brawling-'bots saga arrived on the scene swinging and simply knocked all rivals from contention, surprising nobody using its believed $27.3 million victory. George Clooney's Oscar-baiting drama 'The Ides of March' also did about in addition to expected, debuting in second place by having an believed $10.4 million. 'Real Steel' joined the ring huge favorite. Its plot combined the macho robotics of 'Transformers' using the tear-jerking heart of boxing dramas like 'Rocky' and 'The Champion,' it had been directed by Shawn Levy (whose 'Night in the Museum' movies display his expertise with both family films and special-effects blockbusters), it didn't have real competition for that mainstream action audience, it had a number of IMAX screens in the corner also it reminded nostalgic grown ups from the Rock Them Sock Them Robots toys they'd as kids. The only real questions were if the movie's just-okay reviews could overpower its strong word-of-mouth and whether Jackman could open a film without unsheathing Wolverine's claws. Works out they could not, and that he could. 'Ides of March' also needed to weather less-than-ideal reviews, that are a lot more vital that you a more compact-scale, Oscar-hopeful drama trying to attract a mature adult audience. Plus, the film is all about presidential campaign politics, a subject that may make eyes glaze over and throats gag. Still, the film did well within the popular election, generating positive word-of-mouth. And there is no denying the heartthrob benefit of Clooney and Ryan Gosling (in the third movie in three several weeks). Studio exit polling demonstrated the film's audience was 58 percent female. Last week's champion, 'Dolphin Tale,' was still being the greatest family movie around that did not feature aggressive androids. In the third weekend, the film ended up a modest 34 percent for an believed $9.two million, landing in third place and getting its total up to now to $49.a million. 'Moneyball' also organized well in the third weekend. Despite competition from 'Real Steel' for sports movie fans and from 'Ides of March' for thoughtful Oscar-type drama fans, Kaira Pitt's smart baseball movie fell just 38 percent for an believed $7.5 million. The 4th-place finisher's three-week total is $49.3 million. The nearest factor for an upset is at the fight for that No. 5 place. Based on commentators, it would be considered a cage match between your four-week-old re-discharge of 'The Lion King' (getting the household audiences to whom 'Real Steel' was too violent) and also the two-week-old 'Courageous' (getting the belief-based audience to whom 'Real Steel' had a lot of cuss words). Apparently, both canceled one another out, permitting cancer comedy '50/50' to sneak up and grab fifth place by having an believed $5.5 million. That's lower just 36 percent from last week's premiere and provides the film an overall total of $17.3 million up to now. 'Courageous' settled for sixth place by having an believed $4.six million, edging out 'Lion King' just by $48,000. Following a strong September, box office for October is simply a hair (about $3 million) behind last October's take, despite the fact that this weekend's movies gained a combined $two million a lot more than exactly the same weekend this past year. The entire take to date for 2011 continues to be about $300 million (3.2 percent) behind exactly the same period this year ($8. billion to $8.3 billion). 'Real Steel' - Trailer No. 2 The entire top ten: 1. 'Real Steel,' $27.3 million (3,440 screens), era 2. 'The Ides of March,' $10.4 million (2,199), era 3. 'Dolphin Tale,' $9.two million (3,478), $49.a million total 4. 'Moneyball,' $7.5 million (3,018), $49.3 million 5. '50/50,' $5.5 million (2,479), $17.3 million 6. 'Courageous,' $4.60 million (1,161), $15.9 million 7. 'The Lion King,' $4.55 million (2,267), $86. million 8. 'Dream House,' $4.50 million (2,664), $14.5 million 9. 'What's Your Number?', $3.a million (3,011), $10.3 million 10. 'Abduction,' $2.9 million (2,591), $23.4 million [Photos: DreamWorks, The new sony Pictures] Follow Moviefone on Twitter Like Moviefone on Facebook Follow Gary Susman on Twitter: @garysusman