Alita: Battle Angels gets to claim early bragging rights for the holiday weekend but the other two releases are likely to surge passed as we head into Valentine’s Day box office.
The Robert Rodriguez-directed, Lightstorm produced movie made more than any other title on the chart with $2.4 million off showtimes that started at 7 PM. The number includes Tuesday fan event money.
There isn’t a lot to compare the film too since most movies don’t hold previews on a Wednesday during this time of the year but Dwayne Johnson’s Rampage earned $2.4 million in Thursday night previews before opening to $35.7 million. Alita has to lure in the ladies and appeal to moviegoers outside the sci-fi/action genre if it hopes to ride similar momentum. The film cost anywhere between $170-237 million to make so it’s going to be a huge uphill battle for the project.
Isn’t It Romantic came in with $1.8 million on its first day of release as it did not hold Tuesday night previews. The Rebel Wilson romantic comedy is going to see quite a surge tonight thanks to the date night crowd so it will be interesting to see where things land tomorrow.
Happy Death Day 2U ranked third with 992,000 on its first day of release as it also didn’t hold Tuesday night previews. The figure is close to the $1 million the original made in Thursday night previews back in 2017 and this is another film that is likely to see a surge because horror movies are big on the night and the target audience is likely to come out harder as the weekend gets into full swing.
Needless to say, it’s going to be a long weekend and it’s the start of what should be a pretty lucrative weekend at the box office.
