The Thursday figure was down a steep 41% from the second day of release for Transformers ($29.1M) which opened this holiday week last year, though it bowed on a Tuesday with Monday night previews. Hancock's figure was off 11% from Transformers' $19.2M first Thursday take. The Fourth of July holiday is a tricky one at the box office since like Christmas it falls on a different day each year making comparisons partly uneven.

The last time the holiday fell on a Friday was in 2003 when Terminator 3 was the big action entry that debuted midweek and shot straight to number one. That sequel grossed $11.9M on its first Thursday and its $28.4M tally from Tuesday previews to Thursday accounted for 39% of the $72.4M it collected over the long opening period. Should Hancock follow the same trajectory, it would bank just over $100M by the end of the holiday weekend.

So far Hancock is running 40-45% ahead of Terminator 3's daily grosses with Wednesday being up 40% while Thursday was ahead by 44%. The Schwarzenegger pic grossed $13M on the Fourth of July. If Hancock flies ahead by the same percentage, it would soar to $18-19M on Friday.

For a NEW review of Hancock visit The Chief Report.