The much anticipated movie Moneyball opened Friday in theaters nationwide and reportedly earned $6.8 million in receipts at the box office. The total topped the Friday box office, edging out the 3D release of Lion King, which earned $6.1 million, and Dolphin Tale, which earned $5.1 million.
Moneyball is expected to earn as much as $20 million over its opening week, which would be the biggest opening ever for a baseball drama. The current record is held by The Rookie, which earned $16 million its first weekend. The movie benefits from its star-studded cast, but even classified as a drama, it mixes in just enough humor to keep audiences on their toes.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie has received an A from CinemaScore as audiences are enjoying the movie. There was a fairly even mix of men and women attending the movie but brought in a slightly older audience with 89% of attendees over 25 and 58% over 50. The question now is how word of mouth and potential repeat viewings affects the box office take moving forward.