'Footloose' tops Friday B.O.

'Footloose'Paramount's "Footloose" swept the domestic B.O. off its feet, grossing roughly $5.6 million last night.Though hardly record-breaking figures, Par's remake should maintain its edge over last frame's champ, "Real Steel," which earned another $4.5 million for Disney. "Footloose" is expected to land around $15 million through Sunday.Par can probably credit its strategically targeted Sept. 30 free sneaks of "Footloose" for its success last night, though B.O. gold isn't a sure thing as the film is only playing to female audiences versus "Real Steel's" across-the-board appeal.Meanwhile, Universal launched prequel "The Thing" last night to $3.2 million Stateside. Pre-weekend estimates put the film in the low teens this frame, but if it behaves like "The Stepfather" which opened this time last year, it may struggle to break $10 million.Sony's two big adult-skewing fall dramas took fourth and fifth place last night. "The Ides of March" grossed $2.3 million, while "Moneyball," showing off its legs in its fourth week at bat, added another $1.7 million to its tally for a domestic cume of $53.9 million.Finally, Fox's "The Big Year" bowed in eighth last night to $1.2 million. Pre-weekend projections pegged the pic for a dismal $3 million - $5 million this frame, which looks accurate. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com