John Krasinski's newest film, IF, brought in an impressive $1.75M in Thursday night previews, starting at 4 p.m. This family-friendly feature is rated PG, making it a refreshing change from recent releases. While initial reviews are not glowing, sitting at 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, audience reactions seem to be more positive than expected. Industry experts are predicting a weekend box office gross of around $40M, which would make it one of the top opening weekends for an original live-action PG film. The closest comparison in terms of previews is Zootopia, which brought in $1.7M in 2016, and The Boss Baby, which had $1.5M in 2017, although both were fully animated movies.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 and Back to Black
In addition to IF, Lionsgate's horror reboot The Strangers: Chapter 1 also had previews on Thursday night, starting at 5 p.m. The film, directed by Renny Harlin, follows a young couple whose car breaks down in a mysterious town. Initial box office projections for the $8.5M-budgeted movie are in the range of $7M-$9M. However, critical reception has been less than stellar, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 19%.
Focus Feature's release of StudioCanal's Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black, has had a more challenging start. The film, which stars Marisa Abela as the late singer, only brought in $375K in previews from 1,700 theaters. Box office analysts are predicting an opening weekend of $4M-$6M. Reviews have criticized the film, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 36%. Focus Features' investment in the movie is significant, as they paid $20M for domestic and foreign rights.
Overall, the box office landscape this weekend seems to be mixed. While John Krasinski's IF is poised for a successful opening weekend, The Strangers: Chapter 1 and Back to Black are facing challenges in both critical reception and box office projections. It will be interesting to see how these films perform over the weekend and if audience reactions align with industry predictions.