Positioning itself for a strong box-office run so long as audiences keep on pressing the ‘like’ button, Facebook drama “The Social Network” opened to $23 million at the box office this weekend.
It took in more than twice as much from U.S. and Canadian moviegoers than the other two new films combined. “Let Me In,” a well-reviewed remake of a Swedish vampire drama, and horror film “Case 39” were about as popular as failed Facebook competitor Friendster is now, taking in $5.3 million and $5.4 million, respectively.
The kickoff for “The Social Network,” directed by David Fincher, written by “The West Wing’s” Aaron Sorkin and starring Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, was just slightly below what most in Hollywood had expected based on pre-release surveys. The heavily hyped picture, which was aggressively advertised and the subject of extensive media coverage, played very similar to another well-reviewed drama, Ben Affleck’s “The Town,” which launched with $23.8 million two weeks ago.