Three new wide releases are coming out this weekend as a sort of counterprogramming for the behemoth that is Avengers: Endgame but, judging from Thursday night numbers, only one of those wide releases may make a dent this weekend as it will continue to be all about the Endgame.
Endgame continued to dominate with a robust $21.7 million last night. Endgame currently has $474 million and is expected to cross $500 million today in its eighth day of release, which will beat Force Awakens‘ 10-day record to that milestone. A $180-200 million second weekend is definitely in play and that would allow it to beat the second-weekend record set by Force Awakens’ $149.2 million.
Leading the way in Thursday night previews is The Intruder, starring Michael Ealy, Megan Good & Dennis Quaid. The film scored $865,000 last night from 5 PM showtimes at 2,073 theaters. The film is vying for the African American audience and there is room for this film to moderately break out this weekend. The film is very rotten at 26% but reviews usually don’t matter with these films. It looks like a fun check your brain at the door thriller and it should play well, at least on opening weekend. I’m calling $13-15 million for the weekend.
Next up is Long Shot, starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, which grossed $660,000 in Thursday night previews. It’s not a great figure but it also isn’t a disaster. The film is the best-reviewed movie of the weekend at 83% fresh so it could boost due to word of mouth over the weekend. Long Shot‘s Thursday of $660,000 isn’t that far from Overboard‘s Thursday preview of $675,000 with the latter earning a $4.8 million on Friday on its way to north of $50 million. Overboard opened in the same period as the second weekend of Infinity War last year and managed to perform admirably so there’s hope that the female-driven Long Shot can catch on. I’m predicting $10-12 million for the weekend.
Lastly Ugly Dolls, featuring the voices of Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas & Janelle Monae, grossed $300,000 from Thursday night previews. Thursday nights when school is in session isn’t primetime for a hand-holder film that skews toward young girls so it should boost a bit over the weekend. UglyDolls’ Thursday night which began around 5 PM is lower than Emoji Movie ($900,000 during summer) and Sony’s Angry Birds ($800,000). UglyDolls Thursday night isn’t that far from Smurfs: Lost Village ($375,000) which opened in early April 2017 to $13.2 million and ended its run at $45 million. The reviews aren’t great at 30% but it could be an option for kids that aren’t into Endgame. I’m predicting an opening of $11-12 million.
