Sony’s thriller “The Intruder” invaded the box office with $865,000 at 2,073 North American locations on Thursday night.
“The Intruder,” starring Dennis Quaid, Meagan Good and Michael Ealy, topped Lionsgate’s romantic comedy “Long Shot,” which opened with $660,000 at 2,500 locations during Thursday night preview showings. STX’s animated comedy “UglyDolls” took in $300,000 at 2,250 sites on Thursday night.
The trio of new titles is expected to battle for second place this weekend in the $9 million to $16 million range as counter-programmers while moviegoers remain focused on Disney-Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame,” which opened with a stunning $357 million last weekend. The blockbuster could set a record for biggest domestic second weekend of all time. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” currently holds that distinction with $149.2 million.
On Wednesday, “Avengers: Endgame” collected $25.3 million, bringing its North American haul to $452.3 million after only six days. It’s already the 17th-highest domestic grosser of all time and could become the 10th title to hit the $600 million mark this weekend.
“The Intruder,” which expands to 2,222 locations on Friday, follows a young married couple, played by Good and Ealy. After buying their dream house, they realize the seller (Quaid) won’t let go of the property. Critics were not impressed with the pic, which earned a 27% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The Intruder” carries an $8 million price tag. Sony’s Screen Gems division has recently found success serving up similar modestly priced thrillers like “The Possession of Hannah Grace,” “Searching” and “Slender Man.”
“Long Shot,” which widens to 3,230 sites on Friday, is expected to make between $9 million and $16 million. The raunchy R-rated romantic comedy stars Seth Rogen as a journalist trying to win over his former babysitter, played by Charlize Theron, who is running for president. Reviews were mostly positive, giving the film a current 83% “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
“UglyDolls,” which will expand to 3,652 venues, is targeting a much different audience than that of “Long Shot.” Based on the popular children’s toy line, STX’s first foray into animation should collect $12 million to $16 million. “UglyDolls” takes place in Uglyville, where colorful fabric dolls long for the day they will meet their perfect human match.
“Avengers: Endgame” has closed the gap for 2019’s North American box office to 12.7%, with the May 1 total at $3.45 billion, according Comscore. The gap was at 17% a week ago before the mega-tentpole opened, noted Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at the box office tracker.
“After conquering every record imaginable, the film now sets its sights on generating a record North American second weekend gross in excess of $150 million, a number that would still be considered a monumental opening weekend for any modern blockbuster and yet for ‘Endgame,’ could just be another walk in the box office park as it continues its record-annihilating run,” he added.
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