‘Goosebumps’ scares up big numbers at the box office

“Goosebumps” goes bump in the night — and at the box office.

The film adaptation of R.L. Stine’s beloved series of frightful children’s novellas led the Friday box office after taking in an estimated $7.4 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

If tracking estimates prove true, “Goosebumps” is headed toward a $25-million debut, which would be enough to push Ridley Scott’s space odyssey “The Martian” out of the top spot. The Matt Damon vehicle took in an additional $6.3 million Friday toward an estimated $22-million weekend bounty, bringing its domestic total to an impressive $144 million.

SIGN UP for the free Indie Focus movies newsletter >>

“Goosebumps” stars Jack Black as the famous author Stine — who has been called the “Stephen King of children’s literature” — whose creepy characters escape from his books and spook a small town.

Rob Letterman directed the 3-D horror-comedy, which cost $58 million to make. It benefited from a strong built-in fanbase, considering the best-selling Scholastic book series was a cornerstone of the ’90s and spawned a hit television show.

Guillermo del Toro’s gothic romance “Crimson Peak” and Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller “Bridge of Spies” also were looking to dominate the box office this weekend, but both films will end up out-spooked by “Goosebumps.”

Inspired by true events, Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies” stars Tom Hanks as an insurance lawyer tasked with representing a Soviet spy and helping to negotiate the release of an American pilot whose U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960.

The dramatic thriller, which cost $40 million to make and has all the ingredients of an awards season prestige title, earned an estimated $5.3 million Friday. It’s expected to pull in between $15 million and $20 million this weekend.

“Crimson Peak” is looking to be a disappointment for horror king del Toro.

A throwback to ’40s-era haunted-house gothics, the film starring Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska and Charlie Hunnam and filmed in a three-and-a-half-story house the director meticulously designed, “Crimson Peak” earned a modest B- CinemaScore and pulled in $5.2 million toward a projected $13-million opening.

Follow me on Twitter: @gerrickkennedy