Zach Cregger‘s R-rated “Resident Evil” film snagged $26.3 million on its opening day, including previews, with the studio estimating a three-day haul of $53-55 million while rivals are suggesting one closer to $60 million.
That’s well above the $40-50 million projections of earlier this week, though not quite as overly rosy as the $65-70 million numbers some of the more excitable box-office prognosticators were floating yesterday.
Part of the issue is that no one is quite sure how front-loaded the film is, so the three-day outlook could change if there’s a surge today.
One potential reason for such a surge is word of mouth, the title nabbing a B+ CinemaScore, which is not just a franchise best but very high for an R-rated horror film (which are often more in the C+ range).
“Practical Magic 2” looks to be falling to second place with $10.9 million for the three-day, a drop of 64%. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” will take third with $6.3 million for the three-day, bringing its domestic total to $944.3 million in its eighth weekend.
“The Odyssey” will be fourth with $5 million and bring its domestic total to $609.8 million, while “Coyote vs. Acme” will be fifth with $4.2 million and its total now at $54.5 million.
The “Transformers 40th Anniversary” re-release has made it to seventh place with $2.9 million and a total of $3.9 million so far – not bad at all. The Ethan Hawke-led western “The Weight” debuted in ninth place – very good reviews not helping it get much at $2.55 million. Also, “Buddy” is still going well in its fourth week with $1.94 million – its total now at $24.9 million.
Source: Deadline
