‘M3GAN’ Making Moola With $26M+; ‘Avatar: The Way Of Water’ To Cross Half Billion At Domestic Box Office – Friday PM Update - Deadline

FRIDAY PM: For an aboriginal January play falling aft New Year’s Day and earlier MLK, it’s definite not sleepy. Some big films whitethorn person a hard clip moving astatine the container bureau arsenic moviegoing comes retired of the pandemic, but you tin stake the location connected fearfulness films. Universal has a vibrant No. 2 victor successful Blumhouse’s creepy posh doll film M3GAN which is looking astatine a $26.7M opening aft a $11.4M Friday (plus previews) astatine 3,509 theaters. The Gerard Johnstone directed PG-13 fearfulness movie has landed astatine 94% certified caller connected Rotten Tomatoes with critics and a existent assemblage people of 78%. This movie is successful specified large shape, they’re already kicking astir ideas astir a sequel for it, I hear.

Meanwhile, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is headed to interruption adjacent destination (per the filmmaker) with a moving full stateside by Sunday good northbound of a fractional billion. The 4th Friday of the 20th Century Studios/Disney/Lighstorm movie looks similar $10M, -60% from past Friday for a 3-day of $37M, -45%, for a moving full of $508.7M successful archetypal spot astatine 4,340 theaters.

Universal besides owns No. 3 successful DreamWorks Animation’s 3rd play of Puss successful Boots: The Last Wish at 3,913 locations. Friday is $2.5M (-62%), 3rd play is $10M (-40%) and the moving full by Sunday is $84.6M.

Popping into the apical 5 successful 4th spot is Sony‘s limited merchandise of A Man Called Otto which goes from 4 theaters successful NYC and LA to 637 sites for an estimated Friday of $1.2M, 3-day of $3.4M. The movie ended its archetypal week with conscionable implicit $85K. The pic sits astatine 67% caller connected Rotten Tomatoes but remains an assemblage pleaser astatine 94%.

Fifth goes to Disney/Marvel Studio’s 9th play of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever astatine 2,255 theaters with a $900k Friday, -53%, 3-day of $3.1M, -39% and a moving cume of $445.1M.

The 3rd play of Babylon from Paramount/C2 is successful 6th spot with a Friday of $400K, -57% from a week ago, $1.3M 3-day, -50%, for a moving full by Sunday of $13.4M.

FRIDAY AM: The Blumhouse-Universal PG-13 genre rubric is disconnected to a large commencement with $2.75M aft 5PM showtimes. Universal is betting $17M heading into the play connected M3GAN while tracking was seeing good northbound of $20M. Horror fans ever travel retired connected Thursday nighttime truthful hopefully this large momentum keeps up.

A Blumhouse movie with large reviews aimed astatine the nether 25 demo is ever a bully motion for container bureau prospects: Critics gave M3GAN 95% connected Rotten Tomatoes. The pic is booked astatine 3,509 theaters and is expected to instrumentality the No. 2 slot down Avatar: The Way of Water which is eyeing betwixt $25M-$30M successful play 4. Currently the James Cameron-directed sequel has nether $472M going into the play — it has a changeable astatine hitting the fractional cardinal people stateside.

In regards to comps, the Thursday previews for M3GAN are conscionable nether that of Scream‘s a twelvemonth agone which did $3.5M earlier a $30M opening weekend, but that was implicit an MLK vacation weekend. It’s besides supra Sony’s The Escape Room which kicked disconnected New Year 2019 with $2.3M successful previews earlier notching an $18.2M opening. That pic was 50% with critics connected RT with a 52% assemblage score.

Among regular films successful release, 20th Century Studios/Lightstorm/Disney’s Avatar: The Way of Water lead Thursday with $6.7M astatine 4,202 theaters, -10% from Wednesday with a moving full of $471.7M. The sequel made $113.5M for the week.

Uni/DreamWorks Animation’s Puss successful Boots: The Last Wish at 4,121 sites did $2M yesterday, -11% from Wednesday for a $30M 2nd week and moving full of $74.6M.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at 2,310 ends its eighth week with an estimated $8.8M, a $490K Thursday and a moving full of $441.9M.

Tri-Star/Compelling Pictures/Black Label Media’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody at 3,625 saw a 2nd Thursday of $444K, a 2nd week of $6.7M and a moving full of $17.3M.

Paramount’s Babylon at 3,351 posted an estimated $353K Thursday, -16% from Wednesday, a 2nd week of $4.7M and a moving full of $12M. That bests the $11.3M beingness home full of Guillermo del Toro’s play rubric Nightmare Alley which went connected to beryllium nominated for 4 Oscar including Best Picture. Proof that mediocre summons income don’t needfully interaction awards play chances.