The summer box office is essentially over but Ready or Not is hoping to nab up whatever is left of the 18-34 demo before folks head back to school or make their way back to their hometowns and if its Wednesday debut is any indication, it may have some of their attention.
Ready or Not debuted to $1.9 million last night at 2,244 locations (with $730,0000 coming from Tuesday night previews). What has been promising for Ready or Not is that it has entered the box office race as a surprise critical darling (91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing) and it bucked the typical horror movie CinemaScore trend by scoring a solid “B+” from opening night audiences.
The film is currently tracking for a $6.5 million three-day launch and $9.5 over five days but positive word of mouth and this healthy start could push the $6 million film further. Fox Searchlight could be looking at a moderate sleeper hit and they clearly have faith in it because, by tomorrow, the film will be Searchlight’s widest release in the label’s 25 years at 2,820 locations.
