Mish mosh at the box office with A24’s second weekend of Civil War at $3.5 million Friday and $11M+ for the weekend, and Universal and Radio Silence’s R-rated vampire pic Abigail with $4M today (that includes $1M previews)/$11M vying for No. 1.
Lionsgate’s Guy Ritchie WWII period action pic The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is eyeing $3.9M-$4.3M Friday (including $1.45M previews) and $9M-$11M at 2,845 theaters, but many see the movie, which is 92% with Rotten Tomatoes’ audiences, in third place.
Fourth belongs to Legendary/Warner Bros’ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire at 3,658 locations with a Friday of $2.3M and fourth weekend of $8.5M, off 45%, for a running total of $170.66M. By Sunday, if those figures hold, the latest Legendary Monsterverse title will be pacing 8% behind 2014’s Godzilla, the only installment to click past the $200M mark stateside with $200.6M. It will also officially make New Empire the second highest-grossing installment in the Monsterverse at the domestic B.O., overtaking Kong: Skull Island‘s $168M.
Fifth this weekend is Sony’s Crunchyroll anime title Spy x Family Code: White with $2M today and a $5M opening. RT critics are 96% fresh on the title while audiences give it a perfect score.
FRIDAY AM: Lionsgate is calling their all-in previews for Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare at $1.45M, however that includes around $600K in advance shows from last weekend in addition to Thursday’s cash. Which means Universal’s Radio Silence vampire movie, Abigail, won Thursday previews with $1M. Meanwhile, Sony Crunchyroll’s anime movie Spy x Family Code: White did $670K from shows that began at 4PM.
The weekend crown is expected to be a game of rock, paper, scissors between Abigail and A24’s second weekend of Civil War at about $12M+ apiece. Civil War led Thursday among pics in regular release with $1.6M, -14% from Wednesday, for a first week of $33.1M at 3,838 theaters.
Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare started its Thursday previews at 6PM. Abigail started her previews at 5PM in 2,800 last night and will expand to 3,384 locations today. Both movies are R-rated with good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes respectively of 71% and 83% fresh however, the Ritchie movie is expected to log in the mid single digits. Both are sharing PLFs this weekend.
Civil War is sharing Imax screens with Spy x Family Code: White, the latter which will do in the single digits.
Legendary/Warner Bros’ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire booked at 3,847 saw a third Thursday of $893K, -3% from Wednesday for a week of $19.7M and a running total of $162.1M.
Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire at 3,350 finished week 4 with $7.3M after a $372K Thursday, -1%.
Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 at 3,104 sites finished week 6 with an estimated $7.2M, running total of $175.3M after a $423K Thursday, +6% from Wednesday.