Thursday Night Previews: 1917 Pulls in $3.5 million in Previews - Update
January 10, 2020
1917 started its wide release with $3.5 million on Thursday during its previews. This is more than the film made during two weeks of limited release and it had a stellar run in limited release. Some are saying this is a weaker than anticipated start, but I’m not sure that’s the case. Dunkirk earned $5.5 million and if this film just manages the same legs it will open with $32 million, which isn’t that far below our prediction. Furthermore, Dunkirk was a summer release, which would help its previews. Another comparison is American Sniper, which was also a limited release that expanded in January. That film made $5.3 million during its previews on its way to a nearly $90 million wide expansion. If this film does the same, then it will earn nearly $60 million over the weekend. That’s not going to happen, as American Sniper was an anomaly in so many ways that you can’t assume any film will ever match its start, but it does show getting to $35 million after this start isn’t a stretch. This is especially true if mainstream audiences like the film as much as critics did. We won’t have solid evidence either way until the CinemaScore comes out, but I would be surprised if it is less than an A-rating.
Just Mercy earned $800,000 during its previews, and $10,000 in its regular limited release run. Its reviews do suggest its wide expansion will go reasonably well and matching our prediction of just under $9 million is still the goal for the weekend.
Underwater only managed $500,000 during its previews. We weren’t expecting much with a $6 million prediction, but this start makes that low figure seem too optimistic. Maybe its CinemaScore will top its average reviews enough to keep it above the Mendoza Line.
There are still no numbers released for Like a Boss, but this is typical for Paramount. I’m not expecting much, not with it earning the worst reviews of the weekend. Update: The film earned $1 million in previews, which is almost exactly as expected, so there's not much more than needs to be added.
- Weekend Predictions
-4-News.jpg)
- Theater Counts
Filed under: Midnight Previews, Underwater, Just Mercy, Like a Boss, 1917