Selena Gomez stars as the voice of Mavis in Hotel Transylvania 2.

Image Credit: Sony Pictures

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - September has a new box office star in "Hotel Transylvania 2." The PG-rated animated pic earned a robust $47.5 million in its debut weekend, making it the top September opener of all time, according to Rentrak estimates Sunday.

The previous record holder was "Hotel Transylvania" which opened to $42.5 million in 2012.

"It really is something the whole family can agree to see. There are laughs for adults, kids, and teenagers as well," said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution for Sony.

According to the studio, an estimated 59 per cent of audiences were female and 60 per cent were under the age of 25.

Paul Dergarabedian, a Senior Media Analyst for box office tracker Rentrak, noted that the film capitalized on early excitement for Halloween. It's also serving an audience eager for more family friendly animated content.

"This year hasn't been oversaturated with family animated films, it seems like virtually all have done well," he said.

The film, which cost around $80 million to make, features the voices of Adam Sandler, Mel Brooks, Selena Gomez and Kevin James and is the only animated feature on the market until "Peanuts" opens in November.

"The Intern," a PG-13 rated workplace comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, took second with a solid $18.2 million.

Audiences for the Nancy Meyers written and directed film were 62 per cent women and 88 per cent over the age of 25. Significantly, 55 per cent were over 50-years-old — an audience that doesn't typically rush out to see films on opening weekend.

"Nancy Meyers is her own brand and I think that automatically accesses an audience who looks at it and thinks 'this is a movie I want to see,'" said Jeff Goldstein, an executive vice-president at Warner Bros., of the veteran filmmaker known for films like "It's Complicated."

"Here we have a real hit," he said.

"Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" took third place in its second weekend in theatres with $14 million — a 54 per cent drop from its opening. The film has brought in $51.7 million to date.

"Everest," meanwhile, landed in fourth place with only $13.1 million after expanding nationwide. The fact-based adventure film opened only on IMAX and premium large format 3D screens last weekend.

"It's very difficult to know where a film is going to land when there's no good comp for it. Based on the releasing pattern we had for the movie, we're kind of blazing a new trail. You can call it an experiment if you will," said Nick Carpou, who heads Universal's domestic distribution. "When you add the two weekends together and the mid-weeks in between, sitting here at $23 million feels really good."

Dergarabedian said that perhaps the competition over the same audience is the reason for "Everest's" soft weekend.

"It's really crowded out there," Dergarabedian said. Both "Black Mass," in fifth place with $11.5 million, and "Everest" have been pulling in predominantly male audiences.

The well-reviewed border drama "Sicario" is also dividing audience attentions. It cracked the top 10 with $1.8 million from only 59 theatres.

Hope isn't lost for "Everest," though. With a solid A CinemaScore, word of mouth should be strong in the coming weeks, despite the direct competition of next week's "The Walk," another vertiginous, event film that will take over IMAX screens.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Rentrak. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Hotel Transylvania 2," $47.5 million.

2. "The Intern," $18.2 million.

3. "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials," $14 million.

4. "Everest," $13.1 million.

5. "Black Mass," $11.5 million.

6. "The Visit," $6.7 million.

7. "The Perfect Guy," $4.8 million.

8. "War Room," $4.3 million.

9. "The Green Inferno," $3.5 million.

10. "Sicario," $1.8 million.

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ldbahr

News from © The Associated Press, 2015