“Shazam!” is still showing box office power as it heads for a repeat victory in North American, with about $21 million, early estimates showed on Friday.
Universal’s body-swap comedy “Little” is eyeing second place with about $14 million, narrowly topping another newcomer, Lionsgate’s “Hellboy” remake, at around $12 million. The second weekend of “Pet Sematary” and the third frame of “Dumbo” will battle for fourth at about $8 million each. Laika’s animated “Missing Link” and Avrion’s romantic drama “After” are both debuting quietly in the $6 million range.
“Shazam!” will likely have the year’s lowest gross for a domestic box office winner since the third weekend of “Glass” topped the chart during Super Bowl weekend with $9.5 million.
“Shazam!,” starring Zachary Levi as the boyish superhero, is declining about 61% from its opening. The DC Comics tentpole, which carries an $80 million budget, should wind up the frame with more than $90 million domestically in its first 10 days.
“Little” is performing in line with expectations, which had ranged from $14 million to $18 million at 2,667 venues. The film stars Regina Hall as a take-no-prisoners tech mogul and Marsai Martin as her 13-year-old version. “Little,” also toplined by Issa Rae, cost $20 million to produce. Reviews have been mixed, with a 51% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Related
Tina Gordon directed the PG-13 comedy, produced by Will Packer — known for his work on “Girls Trip,” “Night School” and the “Ride Along” franchise. The 14-year-old Martin, who stars in “Black-ish,” came up with the premise of the movie and is an executive producer.
“Hellboy,” starring “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour, is coming in under expectations, which had ranged between $16 million to $20 million at 3,303 screens. Directer by Neil Marshall, “Hellboy” is the third movie based on the Dark Horse comic about the half-demon superhero. The cast includes Ian McShane, Sasha Lane and Daniel Dae Kim.
“Hellboy” has received mostly negative reviews, with a current 12% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics have compared the R-rated film unfavorably to the two installments directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Ron Perlman. “Hellboy” carries a $50 million production cost.
Laika Studios’ “Missing Link” is also under-performing earlier estimates, which had pegged the pic for a finish between $8 million and $12 million from 3,413 venues. United Artists Releasing’s stop-motion animated adventure follows an explorer searching in the Pacific Northwest frontier for a Bigfoot-type mythical creature. Directed by Chris Butler, the “Missing Link” voice cast includes Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana and Emma Thompson. Critics have been dazzled, giving the pic an 88%.
This weekend’s final release is Aviron’s romantic drama “After,” has been expected to generate less than $10 million at 2,138 locations. The film stars Josephine Langford as a college student who begins a relationship with the school’s resident bad boy, played by Hero Fiennes-Tiffin.