‘White House Down’ Earns $1.3 Million On Thursday Night

Roland Emmerich’s White House Down managed to snag a tidy sum of cash from curious moviegoers on Thursday night.

Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx’s action flick generated around $1.35 million in ticket sales during evening and midnight showings. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the flick began screening in certain locations at 7 pm.

Although the movie is expected to do a considerable amount of business this weekend, analysts believe White House Down won’t top the box office. The Wrap reports that Disney-Pixar’s sequel Monsters University will likely emerge victorious over the next three days.

However, it appears White House Down will have a little competition this weekend. Director Paul Feig’s buddy cop comedy The Heat also performed pretty well during its own Thursday night screenings. In fact, it’s numbers aren’t too far behind Emmerich’s offering.

The Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy flick earned around $1 million from early and midnight screenings. The film is opening in 3,181 theaters this weekend in hopes that female audiences will turn up to see the latest cinematic endeavor from the guy who directed Bridesmaids.

Since Monsters University is likely to top the weekend box office, this means White House Down and The Heat will be battling it out for second place. However, it’s a little too early to tell which movie will prove most popular with audiences.

Right now, it would seem it all comes down to the female demographic. Although guys will likely flock to White House Down, women will likely decide to investigate The Heat. Of course, one should never underestimate the power of Channing Tatum.

Analysts believe both movies will likely pull in $35 million in receipts. The Brad Pitt zombie picture World War Z could land in fourth place. It will be interesting to see how everything unfolds over the weekend.

Are you planning to catch White House Down or The Heat in theaters?

[Top Image via Sony Pictures / Columbia Pictures]