HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Fans added The Social Network to their list of activities over the weekend as the film opened at No. 1 with ticket sales of $21 million, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
Director David Fincher’s drama traces the history of Facebook from Harvard University, where computer whiz Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) launched the blockbuster site. The film is based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich.
The animated adventure Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole had sales of $10.9 million to finish as the runner-up film for the second straight weekend.
Last week’s No. 1, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, slipped to third place at $10.1 million.
Ben Affleck’s The Town ($10 million) and the teen comedy Easy A ($7 million) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to round out the weekend top five.
Watch: The Social Network Cast Interviews
Weekend Box Office Oct. 1-3:
1. The Social Network, $23 million.
2. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, $10.9 million.
3. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, $10.1 million.
4. The Town, $10 million.
5. Easy A, $7 million.
6. You Again, $5.6 million.
7. Case 39, $5.35 million.
8. Let Me In, $5.3 million.
9. Devil, $3.7 million.
10. Alpha and Omega, $3 million.
