'The Vow' Easily Cracks $40 Million During Healthy FrameFebruary 12, 2012 08:16 AM

by Phil Contrino

With four new releases opening to $20 million+ this weekend, it feels more like July than February.

The Vow took in $15.325 million on Friday and $16.7 million on Saturday—a 9% increase. Sony is estimating that the romantic drama will make $9.675 million today. Women account for 72% of ticket sales, while 55% of the overall audience is under 25. It's clear that The Vow is a bit polarizing based on the 73% approval rating on Flixster from more than 17,000 users.

Safe House is not far behind The Vow. Universal's CIA-themed thriller completely shattered expectations this weekend by posting $13.8 million on Friday and $16.6 million on Saturday—a 20.2% jump. Universal has Safe House pegged at $8.9 million today. Surprisingly, Safe House is split 50/50 when it comes to audience gender, and 62% of the audience is over 30. Nearly 16,000 Flixster users combined to give Safe House a lukewarm 72% approval rating. Safe House is Denzel Washington's second-strongest opening behind American Gangster's $43.6 million debut in 2007. Washington plays the villain in both films.

Families showed up in droves for Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. The Warner Bros. release managed $6.570 million on Friday and $12,715 million on Saturday—a staggering 94% increase. WB is predicting $8.265 million for today. The audience breakdown is 50/50 male/female and 54% under 25. Unfortunately, word-of-mouth is less than enthusiastic as a result of a 51% approval rating from more than 8,000 Flixster users.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace roped in $8.650 million on Friday and $8.550 million on Saturday—a 1% drop. The audience breakdown is 60% male, and 49% under 25.

Additional reporting by Daniel Garris.