Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse got off to a strong start in Thursday night previews and the start bodes well for the rest of the weekend.
Sony Animation’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse grossed $3.5 million from showtimes starting at 5 PM from 3,321 locations, a solid number for this time of year and for an animated film that has a very niche audience. Spider-Verse‘s number is higher than Universal/Illumination’s Tuesday night $1.7 million previews for Sing two years ago when it launched before Christmas, turning in an opening day of $11 million. Some are comparing this movie to Warner Bros’ Lego Batman, and Spider-Verse beat the Thursday $2.2 million previews of that film, which posted a $14.4 million opening day and $53 million opening.
Sony is still predicting a modest $30 million opening but other industry insiders are certain the film will over-index and surpass what Sony is predicting for the film. I predicted a $35-40 million opening and then a leggy run in the weeks ahead but the film could surge higher after this start.
Also getting started in Thursday night previews is Mortal Engines which grossed $675,000 from 2,600 locations starting at 7 PM. This is not a great start for a film that carries a $100-150 million price tag and it doesn’t really look enticing for the rest of the weekend. Universal made more money from its Legendary bombs Warcraft and The Great Wall on their preview nights with $3.1 million and $970,000, respectively. Versus other sci-fi bombs, Mortal Engines made less than Warner Bros’ Jupiter Ascending ($975,000) and EuropaCorp’s Valerian ($1.7 million).
The Mule, directed by Clint Eastwood, is taking things old school by skipping Thursday previews and opening wide today so there are no preview numbers available for this film.
