Friday Estimates: What Happened? Blade Runner Struggles with $12.7 million
October 7, 2017
I was bullish about Blade Runner 2049’s chances for a number of reasons. It was setting October records for pre-sales on a number of sites. Its reviews were over 90% positive. Its previews were a little stronger than expected, so everything was looking up. Then Friday happened. The film only pulled in $12.7 million on Friday, which is well below expectations. This is not a case of critics loved it, but the audiences didn’t, as it scored an A minus from CinemaScore. Perhaps not enough of the target audience even remembers the original Blade Runner and that’s why this movie is struggling. A lot of people thought it had a shot at $50 million this weekend but now $35 million is likely out of reach. $33 million is more likely at this point.
The Mountain Between Us also missed expectations with $3.53 million on Friday. This was good enough for second place during its opening day, but likely not good enough for second place during the full weekend. Its reviews remain around 50% positive, while it earned an A minus from CinemaScore. It has a more mature target demographic, which should help it earn $10 million over the weekend.
My Little Pony: The Movie debuted in third place with $2.97 million. Its reviews have fallen to 57% positive, while it earned an A minus from CinemaScore. Family films tend to have longer legs, so it should climb into second place over the weekend with around $11 million.
It was next with $2.71 million on Friday for a 29-day total of $297.98 million. It will hit $300 million on Saturday; in fact, by the time you read this, it might have already gotten there. Taking 30 days to get to $300 million is nowhere near the record, but it still something worth celebrating.
There’s more positive news, as Victoria and Abdul earned $1.23 million on Friday in 732 theaters for an average of $1,676. It has more room to grow and after this performance, there will be plenty of theaters wanting to book it.
Finally there’s The Florida Project, which earned $50,000 in just four theaters for an opening day average of $12,500. The film’s reviews are 97% positive, so its word-of-mouth should help as its theater count grows.
- Blade Runner 2049 Comparisons
- The Mountain Between Us Comparisons
- My Little Pony: The Movie Comparisons
Filed under: Friday Estimates, The Mountain Between Us, Blade Runner 2049, My Little Pony: The Movie, It, Victoria and Abdul, The Florida Project