‘Lego’ Tops Friday With $7.3 Million, Destroys ‘Pompeii,’ ‘3 Days to Kill’

CEBU, Philippines - Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow's The Lego Movie stayed at No. 1 on its third Friday, grossing $7.3 million for a projected $31 million weekend. Through Sunday, the 3D animated film will have earned north of $180 million at the North American box office.

Lego is easily trumping the weekend's two new entries, McG's Kevin Costner spy thriller 3 Days to Kill and Paul W.S. Anderson's big-budget spectacle Pompeii.

From Relativity and EuropaCorp, 3 Days to Kill placed No. 2 Friday with $4 million. The $28 million film is expected to take in $11 million to $12 million for the weekend.

Based on a story by EuropaCorp's Luc Besson, 3 Days to Kill stars Costner as an international spy looking to give up his dangerous lifestyle and repair his relationships with his daughter and his wife. But first, he must complete one last mission, even as he looks after his teenage daughter for the first time in a decade. Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld and Connie Nielsen also star in the movie, which marks Costner's second spy movie of the year after Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

Three Days to Kill and Pompeii each earned a lukewarm B CinemaScore.

Pompeii is quickly finding itself buried in ash, considering it cost $100 million to make. Coming in No. 3, the 3D disaster epic grossed $3.4 million on Friday for a projected $10 million to $11 million weekend. Germany's Constantin Films fully financed Pompeii, resulting in limited financial exposure for TriStar, which is releasing the film domestically per its deal with FilmDistrict. FilmDistrict paid for marketing.

Set in 79 A.D., Pompeii recounts the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which destroyed the Roman city. Kit Harington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Jessica Lucas star alongside Jared Harris and Kiefer Sutherland.

Constantin is hopeful that the historical epic will do strong business internationally, where it opens in 30 markets this weekend (Constantin sold off foreign rights to independent distributors).

Sony and MGM's holdover RoboCop is holding at No. 4, grossing $2.6 million on Friday for a projected $9.3 million weekend. The film's domestic total through Friday is $36.8 million.

George Clooney's Monuments Men and Kevin Hart romantic drama About Last Night, from Sony's Screen Gems, are in close race for the No. 5 spot. (Hollywoodreporter.com)