I guess we should never underestimate January horror. While Aquaman will remain number one for the third weekend in a row, Escape Room had a robust Friday that will allow it to exceed its box office tracking.
Escape room grossed $7.7 million on Friday which almost ensures that it will have a $17 Million+ opening at the box office this weekend, possibly good enough for second place unless Mary Poppins Returns surges on Saturday. Even if it slips a bit on Saturday, the result is good for the PG-13 horror film which carries a $9 million budget. The film also scored a “B” CinemaScore from opening day audiences which is actually pretty strong for a horror film. Much like Blumhouse, Sony has had a solid history of releasing low budget thrillers/horror films that turn a profit due to larger than expected opening weekends. The wheels usually fall off quickly and that will most likely happen here but I think we have another franchise in the making and I wouldn’t be surprised if Escape Room 2 was in multiplexes in January of 2020.
Maintaining first place on Friday is the king of the sea, Aquaman, which grossed $9.3 million. Some are saying the third weekend could go as high as $31 million which is very good for a tentpole of this nature during its third weekend. The superhero adventure has grossed $238.3 million at the domestic box office and could be at $900 million worldwide by Sunday. Aquaman will likely stay number one next weekend as well, its fourth, because there is still a lack of true competition for it at the box office. If it does reach four weeks at number one, it will be the first Warner Bros. release since 2008’s The Dark Knight to do so.
Check back on Monday for the full top ten box office results!
