UPDATED, FRIDAY MIDDAY: Disney/Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* is currently playing a bit ahead of Shang-Chi’s second weekend with $9 million Friday and a projected weekend around $35M, off 53% from its opening last week. That will get the Florence Pugh-Wyatt Russell-Sebastian Stan Marvel ensemble past $130M by Sunday.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings during its post-Labor Day frame in 2021 did $34.7M, off 54%.
For this weekend, the entire frame for all movies could come in even compared with the same period a year ago, which did $96.1M per Box Office Mojo. That was boosted by Disney/20th Century Studios’ opening of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes with $58.4M.
Warner Bros’ Sinners, as expected, is still a force with at $20M in its fourth weekend. How does it stack up to other fourth weekends for horror films? It’s on par with the fourth weekend of Sixth Sense ($20M), and ahead of It‘s fourth frame of $16.9M. Sinners is behind Blair Witch Project‘s fourth weekend of $24.3M, but that’s a bit of apples to oranges as it was technically the second wide weekend for the found-footage movie, which had a two-weekend platform. Interestingly, Sinners isn’t that far from the fourth weekend of A Minecraft Movie ($22.7M).
The rest of the weekend is looking as follows:
1.) Thunderbolts* (Dis) 4,330 theaters, Fri $9M, 3-day $35M (-53%), Total $130.3M/Wk 2
2.) Sinners (WB) 3,502 theaters, Fri $6M, 3-day $20M (-39%), Total $213.3M/Wk 4
3.) A Minecraft Movie (WB) 3,468 theaters, Fri $1.7M, 3-day $7M (-48%), Total $408M/Wk 6
4.) Accountant 2 (AMZ) 3,402 theaters, Fri $1.58M, 3-day $5.8M (-39%) Total $50.6M/Wk 3
5.) Clown in a Cornfield (IFC) 2,277 theaters, Fri $1.4M, 3-day $3M/Wk 1
6.) Shadow Force (LG) 2,170 theaters, Fri $950K, 3-day $1.7M-$2.7M/Wk 1
7.) Fight or Flight (Vert) 2,153 theaters, Fri $1M, 3-day $2M/Wk 1
Remember, there are bigger events to come at the summer B.O.
PREVIOUSLY, FRIDAY AM: Disney and Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* will continue to storm the weekend box office in its second session with an estimated $30 million, off 60% or less from its debut frame. The Jake Schreier-directed movie will cross the century mark Friday stateside in a weekend that’s littered with a bunch of single-digit-million openers. Summer competition doesn’t start until next weekend, when New Line’s Final Destination: Bloodlines will debut to a projected $30M-$40M. Thunderbolts* will have all the Imax and PLFs this weekend.
Hailee Steinfeld in ‘Sinners’
Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection
Warner Bros’ Sinners is not going to hell at the box office, but rather continues skyward ending week 3 with $46.6M and a running total of $193.3M. The Ryan Coogler-directed, Michael B. Jordan-starring vampire movie is crossing $200M today with a fourth weekend that’s expected to be potent with $23M-$25M, -30%, per industry forecasts. Sinners will have Imax 70MM auditoriums May 15-21.
Warner Bros/Legendary’s A Minecraft Movie is looking to ease another 35%-40% in weekend 6 with around $8M after a week 5 of $16.5M and running total of $401M as of yesterday.
Amazon MGM Studios’ The Accountant 2 ends its second week with $13.1M and a running total of $44.7M.
‘Clown in the Cornfield’
IFC
In regards to the rest, the one movie expected to pop is IFC’s Clown in the Cornfield at 2,277 screens, looking at around $5M. Critics love the movie at 80% fresh in the wake of its SXSW premiere in March. The Eli Craig-directed title is set in a fading midwestern town in which Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success, reemerges as a terrifying scourge. We just heard the movie did $600,000 previews.
Kerry Washington and Jahleel Kamera in ‘Shadow Force’
Lionsgate
Lionsgate’s Kerry Washington and Omar Sy action movie Shadow Force is eyeing $3M-$4M at 2,170 screens. The movie was greenlit during the Joe Drake administration at the studio. Critics aren’t hot on it with 50% Rotten. Last night’s previews were $200K. In Shadow Force, an estranged couple with a bounty on their heads must go on the run with their son to avoid their former employer, a unit of shadow ops that has been sent to kill them.
‘Fight or Flight’
Vertical is excited about its airplane action movie Fight or Flight, which carries a 78% fresh with both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. The Josh Hartnett-starring, James Madigan-directed pic has the best previews of anyone with $550K, and that’s from last night and Monday Mystery screenings. Outlook is $2.5M. Out of the new movies tracked on PostTrak last night, Fight or Flight had the best scores with a 49% definite recommend and 3 stars. Pic’s blurb: A mercenary takes on the job of tracking down a target on a plane but must protect her when they’re surrounded by people trying to kill both of them.
Briarcliff Entertainment has Juliet & Romeo at 1,350 theaters and it stars Jason Isaacs, Rupert Graves and Rebel Wilson. The Timothy Scott Bogart pop musical movie is based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It’s looking to do around $1M.