This weekend finally sees the release of the much talked about film Don’t Worry Darling, although a lot of that talk is not on the positive side of things. Marking Olivia Wilde’s second wide release after the highly successful Booksmart, Don’t Worry Darling looks to capitalize on the old adage that all press is good press as well as taking advantage of the segment of the population that is eager to see Harry Styles in his first big lead role (let us not forget Styles has shown some solid acting chops in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.) With all of those factors at hand, you can expect this one to easily open in first place with around $17 Million.
Advance IMAX fan screening sales set records a few weeks back when all 21 locations sold out within 24 hours. However, you can expect Darling to be a front loaded affair with reviews (including our own) saying Florence Pugh’s performance is literally the only good thing about the film. We will be paying attention to Saturday’s numbers closely as that will be the true indicator as to whether audiences agree with critics or not as any drop off in box office will signify poor word of mouth.
Second place should go to holdover The Woman King. The film has had tremendous word of mouth resulting in strong numbers throughout the week and you can expect that momentum to continue through the weekend with a less than 40% drop off and around $11 Million in receipts.
Coming in third should be the re-release of Avatar. Disney has spent a lot of money marketing this re-release and is hoping that not only will it show there is still love for the film, but also hoping to reignite the passion audiences once had for 3D at the theaters. The original Avatar pulled in over 80% of its lifetime gross from 3D showings during its original run, however the format has seen a massive decline in the years since. Disney is also using this to manage expectations for the films sequel Avatar: The Way of Water set to be released this December. If people show up for a re-release of the original, then they will surely show up for its four planned sequels. Recent re-releases such as E.T: The Extra Terrestrial; Jaws and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story have not exactly lit the box office on fire, however, Avatar is a bit of a different beast as it is the current highest grossing movie of all time and this re-release could see it become the first film to ever top $3 Billion at the worldwide box office.
The remainder of the box office will be your holdovers with Barbarian continuing to have small week-to-week drops signifying solid word of mouth and Bullet Train set to finally cross the magical $100 Million gross at the domestic box office.
Will you be heading to the theaters this weekend? If so, let us know what you plan on seeing in the comments and don’t forget to check back on Saturday when we give a brief update on the box office numbers.