The Happytime Murders began its killing spree with a moderate $950,000 in Thursday night previews. This pretty much ensures that Crazy Rich Asians will maintain the top spot for the second weekend in a row at the box office.
With the preview number factored in, The Happytime Murders is tracking to open between $13-16 million and unless it over-exceeds these expectations, Crazy Rich Asians will likely top it with about $18 million. The Happytime Murders is going to need some positive word of mouth because reviews have been abysmal with a rotten score of 25% on Rotten Tomatoes.
On the plus side, this is a better result than Melissa McCarthy’s PG-13 comedy Life of the Party back in May, which posted a $700,000 Thursday night from 2,900 locations on its way to a $4.9 million Friday and $17.9 million opening weekend. The key difference is that Life of the Party came out earlier in the summer and the subject matter isn’t as niche as The Happytime Murders. That being said, it will be interesting to see if the film will find its audience this weekend.
