Not much of a ‘Kick’

It was a photo finish between fanboys and families this weekend, as “Kick-Ass” opened below expectations in a surprising virtual tie at the top of the box office charts with the animated “How to Train Your Dragon.”

Despite pre-release polling that indicated the obscenity-laden, hyper-violent take on superhero culture would take in around $30 million, “Kick-Ass” finished the weekend with ticket sales of $19.75 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to an estimate from distributor Lionsgate.

Paramount Pictures estimated that “How to Train Your Dragon” collected $20 million from Friday through Sunday, giving it a razor-thin first-place victory. However, other studios with no connection to either film had varying opinions on which was No. 1, making the top spot essentially a toss-up until final figures are compiled on Monday. However, since “Dragon” played on 3-D screens with higher ticket prices, “Kick-Ass” was certainly seen by more people.

“Death at a Funeral,” the only other movie to launch nationwide this weekend, opened to a respectable $17 million.

The disappointing opening for “Kick-Ass” indicated that Lionsgate’s nearly $30-million marketing campaign failed to bring as broad of an audience as hoped. Nonetheless, executives at the independent studio claimed that the film, which stars Nicolas Cage along with a young ensemble cast, wasn’t down for the count.

As evidence, they pointed to the performance of “Kick-Ass” in Great Britain, where it had a less than stellar opening nearly three weeks ago. Subsequently, the Universal Pictures overseas release declined only 29% on its second weekend and 26% on its third.

If it holds that well in the U.S. and Canada, “Kick-Ass” could end up with a very healthy final gross of more than $60 million.

“I think the message of this movie is somewhat difficult to convey, and the word of mouth needs to spread so people know it’s not just a typical genre picture,” said David Spitz, executive vice president of distribution for Lionsgate. “A $20-million open is enough to do that.”

Whether that will happen is unclear. Audiences gave it a good but not great average grade of B, according to market research firm CinemaScore. Critics were similarly mixed.

Moviegoers younger than 25 embraced the R-rated “Kick-Ass,” however, giving it an average grade of A. Older moviegoers, particularly women, were apparently turned off by its extreme violence and less interested in its ironic take on fanboy culture, which includes a very foul-mouthed pre-teen girl. The movie did best in big cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Boston, but flopped in the South and in Canada.

Even if it has a typical box-office decline and ends up at between $45 million and $60 million, “Kick-Ass” should be at least modestly profitable for Lionsgate, which spent $15 million for domestic distribution rights and has recouped $4 million from foreign sales.

In the worst-case scenario, however, “Kick-Ass” could end up like “ Watchmen,” which opened short of expectations based on fanboy buzz, then dropped quickly and ended up with a total gross of less than double its first weekend.

The opening for “Death at a Funeral” was right in the normal range for Sony’s low-budget label Screen Gems. The remake of a 2007 British comedy includes Chris Rock and Tracy Morgan in an ensemble cast and drew a majority African American audience, according to exit polling.

It landed in fourth place, beat by “Kick-Ass” and two previously released movies being driven by strong buzz.

DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” dropped just 20% on its fourth weekend, continuing a string of modest declines that have driven it from a soft opening to a healthy $158.6 million total, roughly on par with DreamWorks’ ” Monsters vs. Aliens” at the same point last year. Overseas, “Dragon” has already taken in $176.5 million and, with several major territories including Japan left to go, will easily outpace the $183-million international total for “Monsters.”

Word of mouth appears to be almost as good for the Steve Carell- Tina Fey romantic comedy “Date Night,” which declined only 31% on its second weekend to $17.3 million.

ben.fritz@latimes.com