Can’t stop this ‘Hangover’

Two new movies open today, but they have to deal with a major headache in the form of “The Hangover.”

The Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures R-rated comedy earned $7.7 million at the box office Monday, $6.6 million Tuesday, and $6.7 million Wednesday. Those are the biggest weekday grosses, excluding holidays, for any movie this year, higher than even the big event films “Star Trek” and “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” With $65.9 million in its first six days, “Hangover” is on track to gross well over $150 million before it finishes its domestic run and could even top $200 million, according to industry estimates.

Studio executives who study audience-tracking surveys expect the $35-million budget bachelor-party-in-Vegas picture to be No. 1 again this weekend. If “Hangover” follows the pattern of the last smash-hit R-rated summer comedy, “Wedding Crashers,” it could decline as little as 25% from last weekend.

A gross over $30 million is very likely, which means it could top $100 million within its first 10 days.

Neither of the weekend’s new movies will have a big debut. The remake of “The Taking of Pelham 123,” which Sony Pictures co-financed with Relativity Media at a cost of just over $100 million, is looking at a relatively soft start in the mid-$20-million range, where it is likely to come in at No. 3 behind Disney and Pixar’s “Up.”

In a year that has been tough for adult-targeted thrillers in the U.S. and Canada, “Pelham 123” is unlikely to reverse that trend.

Its prospects are better overseas, however, where the star power of John Travolta and Denzel Washington could drive it to a bigger gross.

Paramount’s Eddie Murphy vehicle “Imagine That” is looking at a truly dismal start, based on surveys of potential moviegoers. The movie, budgeted at $55 million, is expected to gross only about $10 million, with audiences made up primarily of young girls and African Americans.

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ben.fritz@latimes.com