Death on the Nile sets sail with $1.1 million in previews, Marry Me engages $525,000

Super Bowl weekend can work as a counter-programming for films aimed at moviegoers who aren’t into the big game but box office still tends to be muted on game day Sunday. That being said, there can be winners, and Death on the Nile, and Marry Me began shooting their shot in Wednesday and Thursday night previews.

Kenneth Branagh’s mystery ensemble scored $1.1 million in both Wednesday and Thursday previews, per Deadline. The movie began its preview run on Wednesday at 6:00 PM in select Imax, PLF & 70mm screens, and last night starting at 5:00 PM. The film is docked at 3,280 theaters and will get a bit of a bump this weekend from the Imax and PLF screens. Death on the Nile is tracking in the mid-teens for its opening weekend and it appears it will achieve that goal. The film is also expected to do solid business on Monday as Valentine’s Day falls on that day.

Marry Me took in $525,000 just from previews that started on Thursday night at 5:00 PM at 2,700 theaters. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Jennifer Lopez/Owen Wilson romantic comedy performs because this is a genre that hasn’t really registered in recent years at the box office and it’s going day-and-date on streaming as well via Peacock. I suspect this film will get a significant Peacock rush but it’s also in-store for a Valentine’s Day boost. Marry me is tracking towards an $8-11 million opening weekend and a lot of where it lands will be determined by how many people decide to watch the film at home rather than at their local movie theater.

Did YOU see Death on the Nile and/or Marry Me on Thursday night? Are you planning to this weekend? Or are you going in for round two of Jackass Forever?