Warner Bros.’ “Space Jam: A New Legacy” is poised to steal the box office ball away from “Black Widow” this weekend, with a projected North American 3-day gross of $32 million.
The basketball movie, a standalone sequel to 1996’s “Space Jam,” brought in $13.1 million from 3,965 locations on Friday, scoring Warner Bros.’ largest pandemic debut, as well as the largest pandemic opening for a family film. Those earnings put “Space Jam: A New Legacy” at the top spot on this weekend’s domestic box office charts, with some industry experts predicting the live-action and animated film could pull in up to $35 million over the weekend. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee and starring LeBron James, Don Cheadle and Zendaya, “Space Jam: A New Legacy” follows a fictionalized version of James as he teams up with Looney Tunes characters in a basketball game to save his son from an evil AI.
Last weekend’s box office champion, Marvel and Disney’s “Black Widow,” experienced a steep 80% decline in ticket sales, earning roughly $8 million from 4,275 theaters on Friday. The superhero movie starring Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh is estimated to make another $24.6 million over the weekend, bringing its total earnings to $130.3 million.
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Coming in at No. 3 is “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions,” which earned $3.815 million from 2,815 locations on Friday. The psychological horror sequel to 2019’s “Escape Room” is projected to earn a total of $8.6 million this weekend.
The top five is rounded out by box office mainstay “F9” and animated family film “The Boss Baby: Family Business.” “F9” took in $2.18 million on Friday, and is expected to raise its cume to an impressive $153.9 million this weekend. “The Boss Baby” sequel made another $1.4 million on Friday, and is set to raise its total box office earnings to $44.3 million.