“NIGHTMARE” HAS A DREAM OPENING

Nightmare on Elm Street took off like a house on fire on Friday, earning $15.8 million, but dropped 33 percent on Saturday, a bail-out that left analysts hestitant about the final estimate of $32.2 million that Warner Bros./New Line predicted for the weekend on Sunday. (Weekend estimates are based on actual ticket sales for Friday and Saturday and an educated guess for Sunday.) That number is expected to drop precipitously next weekend when Iron Man 2 arrives on the scene. Still, the opening figures for the latest Freddy Krueger flick were regarded as solid. They weren’t as high as last year’s Friday the 13th, which opened with $40.6 million, but that film had the Presidents Day weekend going for it. Moreover, given Nightmare‘s $35-million budget, it’s now virtually certain to turn a profit. Not so auspicious was the debut of Summit Entertainment’s Furry Vengeance, which chalked up just $6.5 million, to place fifth. (Like Nightmare, it, too, cost about $35 million to make.) The sturdy legs of How to Train Your Dragon were also on solid ground again as the movie grossed $10.8 million in its sixth week, putting it in second place — and within striking distance of $200 million as its domestic total swelled to $192.4 million. Date Night also held up reasonably well, falling just 27 percent in its fourth weekend, to place third. But in its second week The Back-up Plan dropped 41 percent to $7.2 million and The Losers dropped 36 percent to $18.1 million to place fourth and sixth respectively.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:
1. Nightmare on Elm Street, $32.2 million; 2. How to Train Your Dragon, $10.83 million; 3. Date Night, $7.6 million; 4. The Back-Up Plan, $7.24 million; 5. Furry Vengeance, $6.5 million; 6. The Losers, $6 million; 7. Clash of the Titans, $5.98 million; 8. Kick-Ass, $4.45 million; 9. Death at a Funeral, $4 million; 10. Oceans, $2.6 million.

Overseas, Iron Man 2 opened in 53 countries earning $100.2 million — 26 percent more than the original did during its first weekend two years ago. The film opened internationally one week ahead of its domestic run in order to collect as much business as it can before the World Cup kicks off on June 11.