Doctor Sleep started its spooky weekend run last night in Thursday night previews and awoke to a promising start.
The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep drew $1.5 million last night from showtimes that began at 6:00 PM. Horror fans, much like comic book fans, come out early for a horror film they’re excited about so looking beyond the figure, it’s important to look at some of the exit pool results which suggests that Doctor Sleep should see a pretty solid weekend.
Screen Engine/Comscore’s PostTrak last night showed 4 stars and a 56% definite recommend which is solid. The over 35 audiences which turned out at 41% enjoyed the movie more with grades exceeding 85%. The one concerning poll is females under 25 who are typical fans of the genre only showed up at 15% (giving it a 60%) and guys under 25 at 14% (giving it an 88% grade). The film is clearly skewing a bit older which, oddly enough, could work out in its favor since it could give it a bit more pedigree with that crowd.
The Pet Sematary remake back in April grossed $2.3 million Thursday night previews but Pet Sematary is like a bigger brand name for Stephen King than Doctor Sleep and Pet Sematary was the first King theatrical release coming out after the success of It so that could also explain the bigger rush.
In other Thursday night preview news, Midway grossed $925,000 in 2,600 locations. The best comparison for this film is 12 Strong which made $900,000 from 7:00 PM showtimes and turned that into an opening weekend of $15.8 million. The film is definitely getting the male audience and the shameless Veterans Day promo is likely playing in its favor.
Last Christmas also kicked off in Thursday night previews with $575,000 last night from 7:00 PM shows in 2,700 theaters. The target audience for this film is likely to make more of an impression throughout the weekend and as I said in my box office predictions, the opening weekend for a film like this isn’t the whole story. It will be about the legs the film has as it plays through the holiday season.
