Box Office: ‘Good Boys’ Eyes Best Original Comedy Opening of 2019

Nate Nickolai

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Universal’s “Good Boys” is surpassing expectations as it heads toward an estimated $20.8 million opening weekend at the domestic box office following $8.3 million in Friday ticket sales.

That’s well above earlier estimates which placed the film in the $12 million to $15 million range, marking the first R-rated comedy to open at No. 1 since Universal’s “The Boss” in 2016. And if estimates hold, the Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg-produced pic could score the best original comedy opening of 2019.

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Gene Stupnitsky is making his feature directorial debut with the film, which follows three 12-year-old boys on a quest for some smooch experience after getting invited to their first kissing party. Brady Noon, Jacob Tremblay and Keith L. Williams star.

Universal also took second place at the box office with “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” which took in $3.8 million for an estimated $13.5 million third weekend. The Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham spinoff is also set to cross $300 million internationally for a $400 million global total.

Rounding out the box office’s top films are holdovers Disney’s “The Lion King,” which is looking to take home another $11 million and CBS Films, eOne and Lionsgate’s “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” which scored $3 million on Friday as it heads toward a cumulative total of $40 million. Sony Picture’s “The Angry Birds Movie 2” also made the top five, taking home $2.75 million on Friday for a $9.4 million four day total (The film tried to get a jump on the weekend’s crowded box office by opening on Tuesday).

As for the weekend’s other openers, the box office is looking far more grim. Entertainment Studio’s “47 Meters Down: Uncaged” is performing below expectations, garnering $3 million in Friday ticket sales for around $7-8 million million come Sunday. Original estimates placed the film in the $11 million to $14 million range, which was on par with its predecessor “47 Meters Down” (“47 Meters Down” opened in 2017 to $11 million for a $44 million theater run).

Annapurna’s “Where’d You Go Bernadette” fared even worse with $1.2 million in Friday ticket sales for an estimated $3.6 million opening weekend. The Cate Blanchett starring film is the latest from director Richard Linklater and follows an agoraphobic architect/mother who suddenly goes missing prior to a family trip to Antarctica.

Warner Bros. and New Line’s “Blinded by the Light” also had a hard time at the box office, opening to $1.3 million at 2,307 theaters for an estimated $3.4 million opening weekend. “Bend it Like Beckham” director Gurinder Chadha helmed the film, which follows a British teen of Pakistani descent who turns to Bruce Springsteen to escape the racial and economic turmoil of his time.

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