Friday Estimates: The Accountant Steels Top Spot with $9.1 million

October 15, 2016

Max Steel

As expected, The Accountant earned first place at the box office on Friday. However, it did better than expected with a $9.075 million opening day. This is not quite as good as The Girl on the Train managed last week, but it could have a slightly better internal multiplier. Its reviews are mixed, but its CinemaScore is solid A, and that should help its legs. On the other hand, it is aimed at a more male audience, so that will likely hurt its legs a little. I think all of these factors balance out and it will make between $24 million and $25 million.

Kevin Hart: What Now? opened in second place with $4.76 million, which is better than expected, after Thursday’s previews. Even with excellent reviews and an A- from CinemaScore, it won’t quite match our predictions. That said, could come within a rounding error, earning close to $15 million over the weekend. $14 million seems more likely at this point. This is above what Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain earned during its three-day weekend; however, that film debuted on a Wednesday and made $17.39 million from Wednesday through Sunday. It’s hard to compare, but I would argue What Now? is a little better off. Also, since it cost less than $10 million to make, it will break even sooner rather than later.

I saw a report that Max Steel made $1.7 million and my initial thought was, “Well, that’s really bad but it could have... oh no, that’s not its Friday number. That’s for the full weekend.” The film only managed $638,000 on Friday, putting it on pace for $1.7 million over the full weekend and making it one of the worst openings for a wide release ever. The film still has zero positive reviews and its CinemaScore is a B, which is bad news for the film’s legs. Although to be frank, it could have 100% reviews and an A+ from CinemaScore and theater owners would still drop it as soon as they are contractually able to.

As for the holdovers, The Girl on the Train was down 58% Friday-over-Friday, earning $3.9 million, which puts it on pace to earn $13 million over the weekend. By Sunday, it will have matched its $45 million production budget domestically, and should break even early in its home market run, at the latest.

- Friday Box Office Chart

- The Accountant Comparisons
- Kevin Hart: What Now? Comparisons
- Max Steel Comparisons

Filed under: Friday Estimates, The Accountant, Kevin Hart: What Now?, The Girl on the Train, Max Steel