Kenneth Branagh is suiting up as Detective Hercule Poirot once again, with the actor-director’s latest movie, “A Haunting in Venice,” opening in theaters this weekend. The 20th Century Studios movie made $1.2 million in Thursday previews at the box office.
The supernatural whodunnit is expected to open between $13 million and $15 million, which would land it between the franchise’s previous two entries, “Murder on the Orient Express” from 2017 and last year’s “Death on the Nile.”
All three movies are based on Agatha Christie’s murder mystery novels, with the first “Murder on the Orient Express” standing as the most successful with a $28.6 million opening. It went on to become a surprise hit with $100 million at the domestic box office and $350 million worldwide. The follow-up, “Death on the Nile,” opened during the pandemic and had an oversized budget of $90 million. It opened with $12.8 million in 2022 and ended its box office run with $45.6 million domestically and $137.3 globally. In terms of Thursday previews, “Orient Express” made $1.6 million and “Death on the Nile” did $1.1 million.
Branagh stars in and directs “A Haunting in Venice,” which is based on Christie’s 1969 novel “Hallowe’en Party.” As a retired Hercule Poirot, he must solve the shocking murder of a guest that takes place at a Venetian seance. The cast includes this year’s Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Kyle Allen, Camille Cottin and more. After “Death on the Nile,” 20th Century also reduced the budget of the latest movie to $60 million.
“A Haunting in Venice” is expected to beat last week’s box office champ Warner Bros.’ “The Nun II,” which opened with $32.6 million.