Box Office: ‘The Grudge’ Earns Solid $1.8 Million on Thursday
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Sony Pictures and Screen Gems’ “The Grudge” took in a solid $1.8 million from previews on Thursday, as the low-budget horror film looks to elbow into a box office scene that’s been dominated throughout the holidays by “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Jumanji: The Next Level.”
The film is projected to make $9 million over opening weekend, a respectable result given its $10 million production cost, and a number that could rise after its robust Thursday results. “The Grudge” is a reboot of a long-running series about an ancient spirit of rage that wreaks havoc on all whose paths intersect with it.
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Reviews have been more horrific than anything that unspools on screen. The film has a lowly 18% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Variety‘s Owen Gleiberman dismissing the movie as “a reboot of a remake of a film that wasn’t all that scary to begin with.” Gleiberman may not have loved the initial 2004 revival, but it was a huge hit, earning $187.2 million and inspiring two sequels. Nicolas Pesce wrote and directed the reboot, and assembled a cast that includes Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho and Jacki Weaver.
“The Rise of Skywalker” and “Jumanji: The Next Level” are still expected to rule over the weekend box office, earning roughly $35 million and $20 million, respectively.
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