‘The Perfect Guy’ scares off ‘The Visit’ at Friday’s box office

“The Visit,” Oscar-nominated director M. Night Shyamalan’s “comeback” from his 2013 disaster “After Earth,” was eclipsed by the other new release, thriller “The Perfect Guy,” at the box office Friday.

Sony/Screen Gems’ “The Perfect Guy,” starring Sanaa Lathan as a professional woman who begins dating the too-good-to-be-true fella (Michael Ealy), earned an estimated $9.95 million Friday according to boxoffice.com.

Universal’s “The Visit,” a low-budget horror film about two kids whose visit to their grandparents doesn’t go exactly as planned, brought in an estimated $9.22 million Friday -- the total also includes the $1 million the movie earned in Thursday evening previews.

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“The Perfect Guy” hasn’t actually scared up much critical praise -- it’s only 25% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, but it appears to be critic-proof, earning a CinemaScore of A-minus from moviegoers.

Reviews for “The Visit” have been mixed; it’s at 62% fresh for “The Sixth Sense” filmmaker. However The Times review wasn’t as favorable, calling “The Visit” “sham Shyamalan.” And it’s only managed a B-minus on CinemaScore.

Still, “The Visit” is Shyamalan’s best reviewed film since 2004’s “Signs” with Mel Gibson.

Last week’s top film, the faith-based “War Room,” fell to third Friday with an estimated $2.2 million and a total of $33.9 million.

The Robert Redford-Nick Nolte buddy comedy, “A Walk in the Woods,” was No. 4 in its second weekend with an estimated $1.5 million for a total of $16.7 million.

“Straight Outta Compton” added an estimated $1.2 million to its coffers for a total of $152.8 million.

The only other new major release, another faith-based film, “90 Minutes in Heaven,” starring Hayden Christensen and Kate Bosworth, placed ninth with an estimated $730,000.