Box Office: ‘Evil Dead Rise’ Makes $2.5 Million in Previews

Nothing can keep the dead down. “Evil Dead Rise,” the latest movie in the horror franchise created by Sam Raimi, has made $2.5 million in Thursday previews at the domestic box office.

It’s a strong start for a horror movie in April, but it won’t be enough to stop the mushroom-powered, meteoric rise of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which is projected to earn another massive haul with $45 million to $50 million in its third weekend. Universal and Illumination’s hit Nintendo adaptation already has $724 million globally and will soon pass “Minions: The Rise of Gru” as the highest-grossing animated movie in the post-pandemic era.

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“Evil Dead Rise” is expected to scare up between $15 million and $20 million in its opening weekend, with some predictions as high as $25 million. It’s the fifth movie in Warner Bros. and New Line’s “Evil Dead” franchise, which began way back in 1981 with Raimi’s original, low-budget horror hit starring Bruce Campbell as zombie killer Ash Williams. The previous entry, simply titled “Evil Dead,” made $97.5 million from a $17 million budget in 2013.

“Evil Dead Rise” stars Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland as two estranged sisters trying to keep their family safe from a new wave of demonic creatures born from The Book of the Dead. The cast also includes Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols and Nell Fisher in her film debut.

It’s a high time for horror, as director Ari Aster’s paranoid thriller “Beau Is Afraid,” starring Joaquin Phoenix, widens its theatrical release this weekend. With polarizing reviews and a nearly three-hour runtime, the latest film from the “Hereditary” and “Midsommar” director is aiming to open in the single-digit millions.

Director Guy Ritchie’s Afghanistan War action movie “The Covenant,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, also opens this weekend, with estimates hovering around $6 million at the box office.

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