Thursday Night Previews: Grinch Grabs $2.2 million on Thursday Night

November 9, 2018

The Grinch

Dr Seuss’ The Grinch started its box office run with previews in 3,200 theaters earning $2.2 million. By comparison, Smallfoot, the most recent computer animated film, earned $850,000 during its previews. If The Grinch has the same legs, then it would make $60 million during its opening weekend, which is a little lower than our prediction, but still a great start for a film that cost $75 million to make. On the other hand, this film’s reviews are not as good as Smallfoot’s reviews are, which could lead to weaker word-of-mouth. Additionally, it is based on a well-known book, so that could front-load the film’s box office numbers. Hopefully this won’t be an issue and the film will top $60 million with ease. We will know more by this time tomorrow when the Friday Estimates show up.

Overlord started with $900,000 in previews, which is a little better than anticipated. “Little” is the keyword here, as I think its chances of $11 million have improved. Its reviews have slipped a bit, but remain the best of the weekend at 82% positive. It does have heavy horror elements, so it could be front-loaded at the box office.

The Girl in the Spider’s Web missed expectations with $655,000 during previews. Worse still, its reviews are the weakest of the three releases at just 51% positive and that will likely hurt its word-of-mouth more than weaker reviews would have hurt the other two films. $13 million is probably out of reach, but it should still land in the top ten with $10 million.

- Dr Seuss’ The Grinch Comparisons
- The Girl in the Spider’s Web Comparisons
- Overlord Comparisons

Filed under: Midnight Previews, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch, Smallfoot, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Overlord