‘Longlegs’ Eyes Neon Opening Record; ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ Hits $4.4M; ‘Despicable Me 4’ Leads

Gru and the minions are continuing their box office reign.

Universal and Illumination’s “Despicable Me 4” will retain the No. 1 spot in its second weekend of release after earning $13.6 million on Friday.

“Longlegs” is still creeping its way to the best opening weekend for Neon after scoring $10 million on Friday from 2,510 theaters — a figure that includes $3 million in Thursday previews. The indie scarer, starring Nicolas Cage as a terrifying serial killer and scream queen Maika Monroe as an FBI agent, is looking at a $20 to $23 million opening weekend.

Despite its “C+” grade on CinemaScore, which is pretty standard for horror films, director Osgood Perkins’ horror film had been earning mostly positive reviews from critics (it currently holds an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes).

Variety chief film critic Peter DeBruge wrote in his “Longlegs” review, “Perkins understands that jump scares are but one of the pleasures of a successful horror movie (same goes for shotgun-toting figures creeping just out of focus in the background). Destabilizing audience expectations and relieving tension with unforeseen bursts of absurdity are every bit as important — both tactics he employs with expert precision.”

Also opening this weekend, Apple’s “Fly Me to the Moon” is launching to fifth place after earning $4.4 million on Friday from 3,356 locations, including $875,000 in previews. The romantic comedy led by Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson, which is being distributed by Sony, is projecting a $10 million weekend debut.

“A Quiet Place: Day One,” starring Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn, scared up $3.6 million on Friday. The prequel in Paramount’s post-apocalyptic horror series is looking at a fourth-place finish with $11.5 million in its third weekend of release.

More to come…

Source: Variety