Box Office: ‘Happy Death Day’ Slays With $26 Million Opening
“Happy Death Day” is poised to dominate the box office its opening weekend, with a projected $26 million at 3,149 locations, significantly ahead of its initial $15-20 million predictions.
The Blumhouse film brought in $11.6 million Friday, which includes $1 million from Thursday night previews. Backed by Universal, the horror flick stars Jessica Rothe as a woman who is forced to relive her death over and over again until she finds out who killed her — a gory twist on the classic “Groundhog Day.”
“Happy Death Day” caps a tremendous year for Blumhouse. In January, the company’s “Split” launched to $40 million, before ending its run with $278.3 million globally. A month later, the critically acclaimed “Get Out” delivered a $33.4 million debut, going on to pick up $253.1 million in global grosses.
“Blade Runner 2049,” which topped the box office last weekend but disappointed estimates by a significant margin at only $32.8 million, will likely be pushed to second place after only one week, with forecasts showing that the Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford film should nab around $14-15 million. This weekend’s earnings will place “Blade Runner 2049’s” cumulative domestic gross at $59.7 million, leaving it quite a ways to go to overcome its hefty $150 million budget.
Jackie Chan-starrer “The Foreigner” is slated for a close third place in its opening weekend at 2,515 locations, with estimates placing the action film at $13.1 million for the weekend. Friday screenings earned the Martin Campbell-directed pic $4.7 million including $775,000 from Thursday previews, exceeding initial estimates. Co-starring ex-007 Pierce Brosnan, the STXfilms movie received an A- CinemaScore. With a relatively modest budget at $35 million, “The Foreigner” has already made a pretty penny with over $88 million in just a few international markets since its Sept. 30 international release.
Summer blockbuster “It” is still making the rounds, and the sixth frame of the Warner Bros. and New Line film is looking to add $6.6 million to its gross, placing it at a mind-boggling $315 million domestically. 20th Century Fox’s “The Mountain Between Us,” starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, is set to score about $5.4 million in its second weekend at the box office, slotting it into fifth place.
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