Box Office: 'Monuments Men' Marches to $550,000 Thursday Night

The George Clooney-helmed pic stars Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett.

BERLIN – George Clooney's Monuments Men earned $550,000 Thursday night after rolling into North American theaters beginning at 7 p.m.

The World War II comedy-drama, co-financed by Sony and 20th Century Fox, opened in 2,494 theaters Thursday night.

For comparison, Monuments Men is trailing slightly behind Sony's Captain Phillips, which earned $600,000 Thursday night with 8 p.m. shows in October and went on to have a solid $25.7 million debut. Monuments is likely to open in the $15 million to $20 million range in North America for the weekend.

PHOTOS: 'Monuments Men' Premiere

Made for $70 million, Monuments Men stars Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville and Cate Blanchett. The film was originally scheduled to open in December but in October was pushed back to its current release date. The film will make its international premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday.

The Clooney-helmed film is opening against Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow's 3D animated pic The Lego Movie, which will hit 3,775 locations this weekend.

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Lego Movie features a voice cast led by Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell and Will Arnett. The family film could open in the $45 million to $50 million range.

The other new entry this weekend is YA adaptation Vampire Academy, which is tracking to debut between $9 million and $10 million. The Weinstein Co. is handling the movie in the U.S.

Email: Rebecca.Ford@THR.com

Twitter: @Beccamford