Men In Black: International got started in Thursday night previews last night but the preview gross indicates that this may end up being another underperformer at the summer box office.
Men In Black: International grossed $3.1 million last night from previews starting at 4 PM in 3,472 locations. Men in Black: International‘s previews are less than the latest string of summer Thursdays, i.e. Pokemon: Detective Pikachu ($5.7 million) Godzilla: King of the Monsters ($6.3 million) and Dark Phoenix ($5 million). Only Pikachu was able to clear $50 million for its opening weekend while Godzilla opened to $47.7 million while Dark Phoenix only managed $32.8 million. Sony is projecting a $30 million opening for International but the way things have been going the last few weeks, I could see it coming in below that number.
The latest film did open higher than 2012’s Men In Black 3 in Thursday night previews but the $1.55 million earned by the third film in previews happened during a very different time for preview showings. Men In Black 3 opened at 9 PM on Thursday, compared to the 4 PM for International which means the latest film had more showings to perform better on preview night. Men In Black 3 opened to $54.5 million and that’s a number International won’t come close to.
The good news for Men In Black: International is that I’m hearing the budget was even less than I mentioned in my predictions piece. I initially heard it was $100-110 million but it’s being reported today at $94 million which means it would need about $300 million worldwide to breakeven. With the International appeal of Chris Hemsworth, the film could be a player overseas and make it to that amount.
