GET OUT (Blumhouse/Universal) is the latest hit from the prolific low-budget horror production company that still has Split in the market, off to a fast start according to preliminary numbers at Deadline with $10.5M on Friday (including $1.8M from Thursday night). Unlike most titles in the genre, Get Out also boasts terrific reviews (an amazing 100% score or Rotten Tomatoes) and audience polls, which should give Jordan Peele’s feature directing debut a weekend total that could hit $30M and unusually long legs, even in the face of next week’s Logan buzzsaw. On a bare-bones production budget of $5M and a moderate studio marketing campaign, enormous profits should be guaranteed. Given the social commentary nature of the thriller, it will also be fascinating to see how it performs overseas.
That pushed THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (Warners Animation) to 2d place, down 45% from last Friday to $4M for what should be a $16M weekend. It’s headed for $165M in the US, down about 35% from The LEGO Movie.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (Summit/Lionsgate) had an excellent Week 3 hold, down 42% from last Friday to $2.4M, on its way to a $8M weekend and a US total that could reach $90M. That will more than double the take of the original John Wick.
FIFTY SHADES DARKER (Universal), like its predecessor, is very front-loaded, dropping 61% from last Friday to $2.6M for a weekend that might get to $7M. It’s headed for perhaps $120M in the US, down about 30% from Fifty Shades of Grey, with one more chapter still to launch.
THE GREAT WALL (Legendary/Universal) wasn’t expected to have much of a US presence, and it won’t. Friday was down 60% from last week to $2.3M, and with a $7M weekend, it will struggle to reach $50M in the US. Its ultimate financial fortunes will depend on the level of its predominantly Chinese ancillary revenues.
FIST FIGHT (Village Roadshow/RatPac/New Line/Warners) isn’t putting a smile on anyone’s faces, down 60% from last Friday to $1.5M. It’s not going to get much past $30M in the US, and even with moderate costs that’s going to leave it in the red.
HIDDEN FIGURES (20th) continues to pace the Oscar nominees, down 15% from last Friday to $1.5M, on its way to a superb $150M+ US total. LA LA LAND (Summit/Lionsgate), which conventional wisdom says should have a sizable Oscar bump next week, didn’t decline at all from last Friday, holding at $1.1M, and it should be at $140M by Sunday. LION (Weinstein) dropped just 5% from last Friday to about $1M, and it’s climbing toward $50M in the US.
The weekend’s other openings were DOA. The animated ROCK DOG (Lionsgate) didn’t make $1M on Friday and might get to $4M for the weekend, on its way to homevideo and oblivion.
A CURE FOR WELLNESS (Regency/20th) was sick unto death, down a horrible 73% from last weekend to $400K, and facing a $1M weekend and a US total that probably won’t hit $10M on 9-digit costs.
The winner of this week’s always amusing presto-changeo, watch our movie crater yet marvel at how we magically lose no money race is COLLIDE (IM/Open Road), which has its studio trying to explain how it could have an opening day under $500K and a weekend under $1.5M and still somehow be unscathed, thanks to pre-sales, soft money, digital marketing and the dog eating its profit and loss statements.
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