This weekend, Tim Burton’s smash hit sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, will have to do battle with a handful of new releases – Speak No Evil and The Killer’s Game. Given the film’s $100 million-plus opening last week, none of these films will pose a significant threat to “The Ghost with the Most,” with it a no-brainer that it will once again dominate the box office.
The big question is, how front-loaded was the movie? Given that fans have been waiting thirty-six years for a sequel, one could argue that the people who were hellbent on seeing the movie all went on the first weekend, with the second weekend depending a bit more on word-of-mouth. Yet, the movie also has significant star power, with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder both riding renewed waves of success, with new star Jenna Ortega no doubt bringing in a hefty audience herself, with her Netflix show Wednesday one of the most popular on the streamer.
As such, I’m expecting Beetlejuice Beetlejuice to make in the $50 million-ish range this weekend. There’s a good chance it could either over (or under) index, but I think the buzz around the movie is pretty good, with it also appealing to a decent-sized family contingent, who are underserved at the moment.
Universal’s well-reviewed horror flick, Speak No Evil should manage a second-place finish with about $12 million. This one seems a tad more sophisticated than their usual fare, with it a remake of a well-received Danish film. With James McAvoy in the lead, this might be a solid date movie for more discerning horror fans, although I don’t think it will have the crossover appeal of some of their more commercial outings.
Dave Bautista’s hitman movie, The Killer’s Game, isn’t expected to make much of an impact, with it playing by the League of Ungentlemanly Warfare playbook and not even opening in Canada. Given the limited number of screens, there’s no way this opens to more than $5 million, with it looking like a streaming movie at best. Deadpool and Wolverine should hit fourth place with about $4 million, while Blake Lively’s It Ends With Us should be in fifth place with about $2 million and chance.
Here are our predictions: