Box Office: ‘Justice League’ Stalls with $94 Million Opening Weekend

Warner Bros.-D.C.’s “Justice League” is headed for an underwhelming opening weekend, coming in below early predictions with an estimated $94 million at 4,051 North American locations during its opening weekend.

The number marks a nearly 15% drop from early reports, which had pegged “Justice League’s” opening weekend in the $110 million range. With an estimated budget of around $300 million, “Justice League” poses high stakes for Warner Bros. The movie is the fifth installment of its DC Extended Universe, aimed at duplicating the success of Disney-Marvel’s interconnected franchises.

Gal Gadot stars as Wonder Woman along with Ben Affleck as Batman, Henry Cavill as Superman, Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as the Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg. Amy Adams, Amber Heard, Jeremy Irons, J.K. Simmons, and Willem Dafoe also appear. Zack Snyder began shooting “Justice League” in April of 2016, from a script by Chris Terrio. Joss Whedon — director of Disney-Marvel’s two “Avengers” movies — assumed directing duties following the tragic suicide of Snyder’s daughter in March.

“Justice League” brought in $38.8 million at the domestic box office Friday, with $70.7 million internationally, yielding a Friday cumulative of $109.5 million. The film received a B+ CinemaScore, with a 40% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Slotting into second place at the domestic box office is Julia Roberts’ “Wonder” from Lionsgate, which also stars Jacob Tremblay and is looking to reel in around $27 million at 3,096 North American locations. Directed by Stephen Chbosky, the film centers on Tremblay as a fifth-grade boy with a facial deformity, with Roberts and Owen Wilson as his parents. The film grossed $9.65 million in Friday showings and received an A+ CinemaScore, with an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The third frame of Disney-Marvel’s “Thor: Ragnarok” is set to pull in a respectable $20 million, giving it third place at the box office. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston, and Tessa Thompson, “Ragnarok” became the 12th consecutive Marvel Cinematic Universe film to top $500 million worldwide last week.

Fox’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and Paramount’s “Daddy’s Home 2” are neck-and-neck for fourth, both bringing in around $13 million in their second weekend, with “Murder” expected to come out just ahead by around $500,000.

Directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, “Murder” opened to $28.7 million. The Agatha Christie adaptation sees Branagh as famed detective Hercule Poirot and boasts an all-star cast including Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Judi Dench, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz, and Willem Dafoe.

“Daddy’s 2” brought in $29.6 million its opening weekend and features Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg reprising their roles as two men raising Wahlberg’s character’s daughter together. The pair is forced to deal with their fathers, played by Mel Gibson and John Lithgow, when they show up for the holidays.

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