Based on what I was reading going into the weekend, I thought the multiplex was going to be an unexciting place. I was therefore rather surprised to see what I thought were relatively impressive numbers attached to the top films.

According to early estimates for domestic grosses at Box Office Mojo, Sony's (SNE) Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler, is so far credited with a first-place showing; the movie is believed to have made about $31 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period. But Viacom's (VIA.B) Justin Bieber: Never Say Never product isn't giving up without a fight. At the time of writing, it was in second place with $30.3 million. Essentially, it's a tie.

It was a great Valentine's Day weekend for Time Warner (NYSE: TWX). According to Boxofficemojo, the remake of Friday the 13th took the top spot, hacking up over $40 million at domestic theaters for the three-day weekend as of early estimates. Even if those estimates change a little, the horror flick is staying put in first place. Michael Bay was the producer on this film, and he brought his slick sensibility to the sick classic.

And, of course, he made sure that Jason Voorhees was prominently featured in the project, even though the supernatural serial killer wasn't the antagonist in the original source material. That was a good decision (although I do sometimes wonder what it would have been like if Bay had stayed true to the original and just used Jason's mother as the killer), considering that Jason is the heart of the brand equity of this franchise. I'll tell you, when I saw the early numbers reported at the beginning of the weekend, I was amazed at how good the business was for Friday. Every marketing cylinder was hit on this one.