Friday Estimates: Bohemian Rhapsody makes the Box Office Sing

November 3, 2018

Bohemian Rhapsody

Bohemian Rhapsody dominated the Friday box office chart with $18.4 million. This is better than our prediction, but not quite as good as some were expecting after Thursday’s previews. Its reviews are good, but not great, while it earned an A from CinemaScore and a 4.5 out of 5 from PostTrak, so audiences clearly like the film more than critics did. The film could come close to $50 million over the weekend, but it probably won’t quite get there.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms opened in a distant second place with $5.62 million on Friday, putting it on pace for $19 million over the weekend. Worse still, the film’s reviews are terrible, it only managed a B plus from CinemaScore, and a 3 out of 4 from PostTrak. None of this bodes well for its legs. Add in the troubled production and the resulting bloated production budget and Disney is going to have to take a loss on this one. Percentwise, it might be the worst performing Disney film of the year.

Nobody’s Fool was next with $4.8 million, putting it on pace for between $13 million and $14 million. The reviews have grown to 33% positive, it managed an A minus from CinemaScore, and a four out of five from PostTrak, so its target audience clearly likes the film more than critics did. It also only cost $19 million to make, so it won’t need long legs to cover its production budget domestically.

Halloween and A Star is Born will be in a close race for fourth place, each with around $11 million.

Looking in on limited releases, we find Suspiria outside the top ten with $422,000 in 311 theaters. This is better than most limited releases would manage, but it won’t be enough to justify a wide expansion. Likewise, A Private War is headed for the $10,000 club with an opening day of $19,000 in 4 theaters, which is better than most limited releases, but not enough to justify a wide expansion.

- Friday Box Office Chart

- Bohemian Rhapsody Comparisons
- The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Comparisons
- Nobody’s Fool Comparison

Filed under: Friday Estimates, Suspiria, Halloween, A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Nobody’s Fool, A Private War