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The animated sequel 鈥淗otel Transylvania 2鈥� not only topped the box office when it opened this past weekend, it reportedly set a record for the best opening in September of all time.聽

鈥淭ransylvania,鈥� which centers on Count Dracula (Adam Sandler), his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez), and her husband (Andy Samberg) and son (Asher Blinkoff), earned more than $47 million domestically this past weekend. The first film opened in 2012 and was also a financial success.聽

鈥淭he Intern,鈥� which stars Robert De Niro as an older intern to a younger boss (Anne Hathaway), came in second place with a weekend gross of more than $18 million. The film is the newest by Nancy Meyers, who also wrote and directed such movies as 鈥淚t鈥檚 Complicated鈥� and 鈥淭he Holiday.鈥�

鈥淢aze Runner: The Scorch Trials,鈥� which is the second in a planned trilogy of movies adapted from the 鈥淢aze Runner鈥� young adult book series, grossed an additional $14 million this weekend. The film opened on Sept. 18 and is a sequel to the 2014 film 鈥淭he Maze Runner,鈥� which also did well at the box office in the fall.聽

The movie 鈥淓verest,鈥� which is based on a 1996 incident in which several people died on the mountain, came in fourth and grossed more than $13 million. The movie had opened the previous weekend at IMAX and other large-format theaters and expanded this weekend. It isn鈥檛 a great debut for 鈥淓verest.鈥�

The movie 鈥淏lack Mass,鈥� which stars Johnny Depp as criminal James 鈥淲hitey鈥� Bulger, came in fifth, grossing more than $11 million. It had opened on Sept. 18.

What led to the big success of 鈥淗otel鈥�? A lack of competition for family audiences was doubtless one factor. Parents most likely aren鈥檛 taking their children to see the crime drama 鈥淏lack Mass鈥�; 鈥淭he Intern,鈥� which looks like it has some adult humor; or 鈥淓verest,鈥� with its no doubt harrowing scenes. The other movie for young audiences right now is 鈥淢aze Runner: The Scorch Trials,鈥� and that鈥檚 most definitely aimed at teens, with its PG-13 rating warning of 鈥渆xtended sequences of violence and action, some thematic elements, substance use and language.鈥澛�

With its spooky theme 鈥� Frankenstein鈥檚 creature and the Phantom of the Opera are supporting characters 鈥� 鈥淗otel鈥� no doubt attracted families already excited about Halloween. October is, of course, a natural time for a spooky movie to be released, though some other recent animated offerings like 鈥淔rankenweenie鈥� haven鈥檛 done well despite coming out in the month of Halloween. (Perhaps recent spooky animated movies that disappointed at the box office like 鈥淢onster House鈥� and 鈥淧aranorman鈥� would have done better if they鈥檇 come out in September or October.)聽

While we as a culture are far beyond the belief that animated movies are only for kids (take a look at the multiple Oscar Best Picture nominations awarded to Pixar if you're in any doubt), the fact remains that the last high-profile animated release was July鈥檚 鈥淢inions鈥� (the film 鈥淪haun the Sheep Movie鈥� was barely noticed by audiences when it came out in August). Families looking for an animated movie to see together no doubt accounted for a large part of the audience for 鈥淗otel鈥� this past weekend.