EXCLUSIVE: New Line’s Zach Cregger R-rated horror movie Weapons is currently seeing a preview figure in the neighborhood of the label’s earlier summer spooky movie, Final Destination: Bloodlines, with $5M+. Walk up business could drive it higher by the time we get the official number tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, Disney’s sequel to 2003’s Freaky Friday —Freakier Friday— is around $3M in previews, sources tell us. Tracking pegged both movies’ openings at $30M+ earlier in the weekend, but we’ve heard in recent days that Weapons is pulling ahead with at least a low-to-mid $30M take or even more.
Fandango reported that Weapons ranked as the second-best horror ticket pre-seller of the year behind Sinners at the same point in its sales cycle, and ahead of Final Destination Bloodlines. Excellent reviews at 97% certified fresh with an audience score of 90%.
Whether Weapons goes higher depends on whether this movie breaks beyond its core fan audience, who is showing up tonight and Friday. Horror movies, as we know, tend to be frontloaded. How do we know if Weapons isn’t frontloaded? It needs an ease between -12% to -14% in its Friday/previews to Saturday. That was the Friday-to-Saturday dip for such movies as Us, Final Destination: Bloodlines and Sinners.
Warners ran a very clever campaign, creating mystery as to why a classroom of kids fled their respective bedrooms in the middle of the night in a small town.
Weapons‘ preview cash is ahead of Sinners‘ $4.7M, and may approach or pass Final Destination: Bloodlines‘ $5.5M. Sinners‘ previews repped 24% of its $19.2M Friday which translated into a $48M opening. Bloodlines’ previews were 26% of its $20.9M Friday which turned into a $51.6M opening. Among original horror movies, not based on any pre-existing IP, Jordan Peele’s Us is tops in previews with $7.4M. That movie went on to do $28.9M first Friday and a 3-day of $71.1M.
Note both pics’ preview figures included Thursday showtimes plus Wednesday previews. Weapons had a showtime with Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas last night, with previews starting today at 2:17PM (an odd time in reference to a specific time in the movie). Freakier Friday held Wednesday previews at 7 p.m., 22 years to the day the original movie bowed, with showtimes kicking off today at 2PM.
Freakier Friday‘s preview figure isn’t far from other PG-rated fare of late, Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King‘s $3.3M ($35.4M opening) and Warner Bros’ Wonka‘s $3.5M ($39M opening). No audience score yet on the Lindsay Lohan-Jamie Lee Curtis movie, but RT reviews are at 73% certified fresh.
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