Weekend Box Office: 'Hotel Transylvania' Beats 'Looper'

September got a much-needed box office boost in its last weekend thanks to two Sony films opening in competition. The big winner was "Hotel Transylvania," which opened to a huge $43 million and set a September record. That's a big win for Adam Sandler, whose live-action movies have been languishing lately.

Following that was "Looper," which brought in a solid $21.3 million. Not only is that a great sign for original movies ("Looper" is not based on a book or a reboot of another movie), but it's good for star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who apparently can now open an action movie. Bruce Willis certainly may have helped, though. The reviews for "Looper" were overwhelmingly positive, so good word-of-mouth could give this one legs.

Three returning movies that almost tied in their opening weekends seven days ago were very close again: "End of Watch" took third place with $7.8 million for a cumulative total of $25.9M; "Trouble with the Curve" brought in $7.5 million to land at $23.7M; and "House at the End of the Street" earned $7.3 million for a cume of $22.4M.

Another big winner for the weekend was new opener "Pitch Perfect," which has a promising future ahead of it. The musical comedy had a limited opening of just 335 runs but still managed $5.2 million over the weekend, putting it among the best per-theater openers ever and setting it up for a potentially big upcoming weekend when the release expands.

1. "Hotel Transylvania" - $43 million
2. "Looper" - $21.3 million 
3. "End of Watch" - $7.8 million ($25.9M)
4. "Trouble with the Curve" - $7.5 million ($23.7M)
5. "House at the End of the Street" - $7.3 million ($22.4M)