In the first bright spot for Hollywood following a dismal summer season, the animated family film 'Hotel Transylvania' took in $43 million at the box office, according to early studio estimates, earning the top spot on a weekend marked by several new releases.

The film, from Sony Corp.'s 6758.TO -0.11%Sony Pictures Animation, about a high-end resort for monsters, operated by Dracula, had the biggest opening since the summer hit 'The Dark Knight Rises' and the biggest September opening of all time.

'Hotel Transylvania,' which features the voices of Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg and Kevin James, also was the biggest opening ever for Sony's animation unit, outperforming 'The Smurfs,' which previously held that distinction with its $35.6 million opening during the summer of 2011.

As expected, the success of 'Hotel Transylvania' was driven by families, which made up 76% of the audience.

Sony enjoyed a strong showing, as the R-rated science-fiction thriller 'Looper,' from the company's TriStar division, along with Film District, captured second place at the box office, racking up $21.1 million on its first weekend in theaters. Featuring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a time-travel action plot directed by Rian Johnson, 'Looper' played well with men, who made up 59% of the audience, as well as with adult moviegoers; 70% of the audience was 25 or older.

In the third spot was 'End of Watch,' from Open Road Films, which earned $8 million in its second week in theaters, bringing its cumulative grosses to $26.2 million, followed by 'Trouble with the Curve,' the Clint Eastwood vehicle from Time Warner Inc.'s TWX -0.10%Warner Bros. Pictures, which took in $7.5 million, bringing its cumulative grosses to $23.7 million.

'House at the End of the Street,' distributed by Relativity Media LLC, rounded out the top five, earning $7.2 million in its second week in theaters.

But it was 'Pitch Perfect,' in sixth place, that displayed the most momentum. Opening in limitedrelease in 335 theaters, the $17 million musicalcomedy from Comcast Corp.'s CMCSA -0.11%Universal Pictures grossed $5.2 million in its first weekend to earn a per-screen average of $15,560, positioning it for potentially robust business when it expands to nearly 2,800 theaters Friday.

ERICA ORDEN

• resort [ri´zɔ:t]   vi.求助；乞灵；诉诸   (初中英语单词)
• opening [´əupəniŋ]   n.开放；开端 a.开始的   (初中英语单词)
• distinction [di´stiŋkʃən]   n.差别；特征；卓越   (初中英语单词)
• driven [´driv(ə)n]   drive 的过去分词   (初中英语单词)
• audience [´ɔ:diəns]   n.听众；观众；接见   (初中英语单词)
• release [ri´li:s]   vt&n.释放；放松；赦免   (初中英语单词)
• musical [´mju:zikəl]   a.音乐的；悦耳的   (初中英语单词)
• hollywood [´hɔliwud]   n.好莱坞   (高中英语单词)
• dismal [´dizməl]   a.灰暗的；阴郁的   (高中英语单词)
• studio [´stju:diəu]   n.画室；照相室   (高中英语单词)
• knight [nait]   n.骑士；爵士   (高中英语单词)
• previously [´pri:viəsli]   ad.预先；以前   (高中英语单词)
• limited [´limitid]   a.有限(制)的   (高中英语单词)
• comedy [´kɔmidi]   n.喜剧；喜剧场面   (高中英语单词)
• weekend [´wi:kend, ,wi:k´end]   n.周末休假   (英语四级单词)
• vehicle [´vi:ikəl]   n.车辆；媒介物   (英语四级单词)
• animated [´ænimeitid]   a.栩栩如生的；活跃的   (英语六级单词)
• robust [rəu´bʌst]   a.强建的；茁壮的   (英语六级单词)