“Death on the Nile,” the latest cinematic take on Agatha Christie’s famed murder mystery novel, is sailing to the top of box office charts.
The star-studded whodunit, from Disney and 20th Century Studios, picked up $1.1 million from 3,280 North American theaters in preview screenings. Through Sunday, “Death on the Nile” is on track to collect $11 million to $14 million.
Super Bowl Sunday, usually the biggest TV event of the year, has traditionally led to lighter movie theater attendance, and this weekend’s matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals looks to be no exception. But viewership competition from football’s big night is not the only reason that initial ticket sales for “Death on the Nile” will be substantially lighter than its predecessor, 2017’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” which opened to $28 million. Post-pandemic, audiences have been less and less eager to go to the movies for films that don’t feature superheroes or secret agents.
Also new to theaters, Jennifer Lopez’s romantic comedy “Marry Me” grossed $525,000 from 2,700 theaters in previews. The Universal Pictures film, which lands simultaneously on the streaming service Peacock, is expanding to 3,642 venues on Friday and is estimated to collect at least $10 million over the weekend.
Elsewhere, “Blacklight,” the umpteenth Liam Neeson action-thriller to play in theaters since the pandemic, is debuting over the weekend. The Briarcliff Entertainment film, which has not reported preview grosses, is aiming to bring in $5 million or less from 2,772 locations.
Preview grosses for “Death on the Nile” include Wednesday premium screenings as well as traditional Thursday evening showtimes. In an effort to capitalize on Imax screens and other premium large formats before Sony’s video-game adaptation “Uncharted” takes over next weekend, “Death on the Nile” began playing in 375 Imax locations and on 700-plus premium large format screens earlier than normal.
Directed by Kenneth Branagh, “Death on the Nile” sees the return of renowned detective Hercule Poirot. Set in Egypt aboard a glamorous river cruise, the story follows a vacation gone terribly wrong after a murder takes place aboard the ship. Along with Branagh, who plays Poirot, the cast includes Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Russell Brand and Letitia Wright.
“Death on the Nile” debuts day-and-date in most international markets, except Spain (Feb. 18), China (Feb. 19) and Japan (Feb. 25). One positive factor: it’s one of the few COVID-era Hollywood movies to land a release date in China. “Murder on the Orient Express” was modestly successful there, grossing $34 million.
“Marry Me,” a love story that imagines one of the most unrealistic meet-cutes since Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in “Sleepless in Seattle,” features Lopez as a musical superstar who weds a total stranger at her concert. Owen Wilson portrays her husband-to-be, and Colombia musician Maluma plays Lopez’s toxic ex. The movie has gotten mixed reviews (it holds a 62% on Rotten Tomatoes), but Variety’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman praised “Marry Me” for acknowledging its preposterous premise.
“The bar for rom-coms is not high, and this one, ludicrous as it often is, inches over the bar,” he wrote in his review, adding, “Once you accept the setup (I fought it for about 20 minutes), it’s easy to roll with the situations in the connect-the-dots script.”