Paramount/18Hz’s Primate rang up $1.4M from both Thursday night showtimes and previous previews. Meanwhile, Lionsgate/STX’s Greenland 2: Migration did $900K. Triple note on that Gerard Butler movie: Canada isn’t going this weekend. Primate and Greenland 2 were forecast to make $8M-$10M heading into this weekend.
Despite the entry of two older-male-skewing titles, Avatar: Fire and Ash is expected to hold on to No. 1 in its fourth weekend with $20M-$22M. The James Cameron-directed threequel grossed $2.5M yesterday, ending its third week at $55M for a running cume of $321.2M.
The Johannes Roberts-directed, Walter Hamada-produced $24M Primate opens today in 2,964 locations. Internationally, the film opens this week in 26 markets including Mexico. That 90% fresh Rotten Tomatoes critics score has simmered down to 78% fresh, which is still notable for an R-rated horror movie. Oz Perkins’ The Monkey last year had a 77% certified fresh RT score in reviews. Speaking of which, Primate‘s previews are about $500K shy of Monkey‘s $1.9M (which turned into a $5.8M Friday/previews and $14M opening).
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Butler’s Lionsgate movie from a year ago, Den of Thieves: Pantera, did $1.35M in previews before a $5.7M Friday and a $15M No. 1 debut. The first Greenland was 77% certified fresh with audiences during the pandemic (remember, it only got a PVOD play), and Part 2 is lower at 59%. Greenland 2 was made for $90M, but Lionsgate only took U.S. for $10M. Elevation will be releasing the sequel in Canada as PVOD via Amazon.
Per Comscore, 76% of colleges are on break today, a number that declines to 42% on Monday but spikes back up to 94% the following Monday on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in addition to K-12 being 94% on break.
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Top pics of the week:
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (20th) 3,835 theaters, Wk $55M (-51%), Total $321.2M/Wk 3
- Zootopia 2 (Dis) 3,285 theaters, Wk $24M (-44%), Total $368.7M/Wk 6
- The Housemaid (LG) 3,070 theaters, Wk $22.1M (-26%), Total $82.9M/Wk 3
- Marty Supreme (A24) 2,887 theaters, Wk $18.8M (-39%) Total $62.2M/Wk 3
- Anaconda (Sony) 3,509 theaters, Wk $13.2M (-51%), Total $49.1M/Wk 2