The Thursday preview numbers are coming in for our two new wide releases this week as this weekend is going to be a truly crowded, but robust, time at the box office. Elvis and The Black Phone have entered the box office ring and they both did solid business in Thursday previews.
The Baz Luhrmann-directed Elvis biopic grossed $3.5 million from previews off 3,400 locations, per Deadline. It should be pointed out that the preview number also includes Tuesday fan events and last night’s showings. The total is slightly higher than the preview number from Luhrmann’s last film, The Great Gatsby, which grossed $3.25 million from previews that began at 10:00 PM. That movie ended up opening to $50 million based on the star power of Leonardo DiCaprio so Elvis isn’t going to score that high but my $30 million predictions is still in its sights. Tracking has the film opening between $20-25 million and a lot of its performance will be determined by if the older demo will come out for the 2-hour and 39-minute film throughout the weekend. The reviews are still good as of this writing at 81% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Meanwhile, The Black Phone scared up $3 million in previews with showtimes beginning at 5:00 PM at 2,800 locations. Tracking has the film opening between $15-20 million while I predicted a $20 million start. Horror films tend to be VERY frontloaded so I expect a big Friday rush which COULD allow it to overperform but it will need to maintain that momentum through Saturday and Sunday to do so. The film expands to 3,150 locations today as it opens wide to some solid critical reviews at 87% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Did YOU catch Elvis or The Black Phone last night?