Efron Led '17 AGAIN' Opens in Top Spot at Fri B.O.

17 Again opened to $10 million yesterday Friday, April 17th, taking the No. 1 spot and setting itself up for a possible $28 million weekend at the movie box office. 

Zac Efron, the 21-year-old star of the "High School Musical" juggernaut graduates from "study-hall song-and-dance numbers to a slightly more adult turn" in Burr Steers' new film comedy "17 Again."

In the film Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry) is a regretful 37-year-old with an estranged wife, a stalled career and a strained relationship with his kids. One night, after an accidental plummet into the Los Angeles River, Mike suddenly finds himself in a body swap with his younger 17-year-old self. Efron is young Mike, a high school senior who now gets a chance to rewrite his life and fix everything that once went wrong. The film also stars Melora Hardin, Leslie Mann, and Thomas Lennon.

"The idea for '17 Again' was intriguing," recalled Efron to Variety in an interview earlier this month about what drew him to the part. "It was just something completely different than the other roles that were out there. So much of acting for me is about variety and trying different roles. Mike is a totally different character than Troy Bolton. Essentially, he's an undercover father. It was nothing that I'd been through before, mentally and physically." To read the full feature article click here.

Zac Efron played the singing teen basketball star Troy Bolton in the hit TV movie High School Musical. Efron grew up in Southern California and began acting in his early teens, making his way into guest-starring roles on the TV shows E.R. and Firefly. He played an autistic twin in the made-for-cable movie Miracle Run (2004, with Aidan Quinn) and starred as a reluctant jockey in the formulaic racehorce flick The Derby Stallion in 2005. The same year he joined the cast of Summerland, as Cameron Bale and he became an instant hit with young female fans.

He took another heartfelt teen role in the 2006 Disney cable movie High School Musical (with Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale); the movie was a surprise hit and Efron starred in sequels in 2007 and 2008. He also played the role of Link Larkin in the 2007 big screen musical remake of John Waters's Hairspray starring John Travolta and Amanda Bynes. 

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