The August box office looks set to be lively with Sony’s drama “It Ends With Us” taking in $24 million on its opening day from 3,611 locations across Friday and early previews. The adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s 2016 bestseller is now looking at a three-day projection of more than $45 million — a solid start for a drama with a production budget of just $25 million, well below typical summer studio spending.
Hoover’s TikTok popularity and the marketing skew toward female audiences have led many analysts to believe “It Ends With Us” could come in much higher than previously tracked. The film now looks set to take the No. 2 spot for the weekend’s opening, closing in on the hugely successful “Deadpool & Wolverine,” starring Blake Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds. “It Ends With Us” was the top-grossing film on its opening day, even after deducting $7 million from previews. Friday’s $17 million comes in above “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Directed by Justin Baldoni, the film stars Lively as a florist who falls in love with a neurosurgeon (also Baldoni) and is forced to confront harsh realities when the arrival of her childhood friend (Brandon Sklenar) complicates their relationship. Thanks to the enthusiasm for Hoover’s story and the enthusiasm among early moviegoers (Cinema Score gave it an A), the film is starting to feel like a franchise entry among its summer blockbuster peers.
But the film that has proven successful in this context is “Borderlands,” the shoot-’em-up, loot-’em-up adaptation of the Take-Two video game series, produced by Lionsgate. The film has grossed a meager $4 million from 3,125 locations, even as ticket sales have increased at IMAX and other large theaters. The sci-fi comedy is in real danger of opening with less than $10 million—a dismal result considering its $115 million production budget. It may even be less than director Eli Roth’s last film, the modestly budgeted horror film “Thanksgiving,” which opened in eight figures last fall.
The writing has been on the wall for a while now with “Borderlands.” Now more than three and a half years after principal photography began, the film that was supposed to kick off the series has received the worst critical response of any wide release this summer. Even fans of the series who prioritized seeing the film as soon as possible are calling it a “turkey” (a very poor D+ on Cinema Score).
Lionsgate has managed to protect itself financially by recouping roughly 60 percent of its production costs through international advance sales. However, the bad press surrounding Borderlands, which stars such diverse names as Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramirez, Ariana Greenblatt and Jamie Lee Curtis, suggests that the ensemble film will flop theatrically.
Meanwhile, Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” is poised to have another blockbuster third weekend. The Ryan Reynolds-Hugh Jackman duo’s $15.6 million Friday, down just 44% from its daily total a week earlier. The R-rated comedy has shown more staying power than your typical superhero flick, which typically has a more front-loaded performance and suffers from a sharp week-to-week decline at the box office. The Marvel Studios production is expected to surpass $500 million domestically shortly after this weekend. The $1 billion worldwide milestone is also fast approaching; it will be one of 54 films ever to cross that mark.
Universal rounds out the top five with its releases of “Twisters” and “Despicable Me 4.” The Amblin-directed thriller continues to do well in North America (though its international release by Warner Bros. has failed to keep up with the momentum in the U.S.). “Twisters” made $4.4 million on Friday and is projected to drop slightly by 32% in its fourth weekend of release — the second consecutive drop of less than 35% for the Lee Isaac Chung-directed film. The film surpassed $200 million in North America earlier this week and now sits at No. 5 as one of the year’s top domestic grossers so far.
Meanwhile, “Despicable Me 4” is looking to add $8.75 million this weekend, down just 24%. After its early July release, the Illumination sequel has been a big draw for family audiences through the end of the summer. Now, at $330 million, it’s the third-highest-grossing film in North America this year.
Outside the top five, Neon's indie horror film “Cuckoo” grossed about $1.34 million from 1,503 locations on its opening day. The psychological thriller stars Hunter Schafer, who had a hit with “Euphoria.”
