FRIDAY AFTERNOON: Lionsgate’s Michael is the hit that keeps on giving with an expected No. 1 in weekend four of $25M+, -34%, after a $6.6M Friday at 3,560 theaters. Imax and PLF screens are giving the biopic some extra dance moves this weekend. This will ease Michael down the road to a running domestic take of $281.6M. One hundred thousand dollars or more will get the Michael Jackson biopic past Lionsgate’s Pre-Covid 2015 hit, Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 ($281.7M final domestic).
In second, it’s 20th Century Studios/Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 at 3,830 theaters with a $5M-$6M third Friday for a $19M-$20M third weekend. That’s -53% for a running cume on the high end by Sunday of $177.7M.
Michael Johnston in ‘Obsession‘
Focus Features
Focus Features’ Curry Barker horror movie Obsession is headed for $6.2M today and a third-place range of $13M-$15M at 2,615 sites, well ahead of the $8M-$9M that was expected. It’s all about whether this places the under-25 set. With 102.2 million social media followers across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X and Facebook, per RelishMix, Obsession is just under such original horror pics social media universes as Longlegs (130.5M), The Black Phone (141.3M) and Abigail (108.5M).
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Says RelishMix: “Convo runs positive forObsessionand plays like a horror fandom pressure cooker where monkey’s paw references and genuine breakout-director hype are all feeding the same machine. Curry Barker emerges as the brand asset, with commenters treating the film less like disposable Blumhouse programming and more like an indie horror graduation moment. The ‘crazy girlfriend’ premise is landing because audiences see it asFatal Attractionfor TikTok brain, with references spanningPearl, Swimfan, The Substance, Twilight Zone, Fairly OddParents, Tales from the Crypt andSleepaway Camp. Smart chatter praises the trailer’s restraint, sound design and emotional cruelty more than gore, which is rare air for internet horror discourse. Advanced screening reactions are especially potent because they frameObsessionas emotionally disturbing instead of merely loud. ‘Just because you chose this for her doesn’t make it less real…that is an INCREDIBLE line.’ ‘This movie, man. It is like gore for the soul’ plus ‘Going from hilarious videos to terrifying horror films, Curry has the kind of gift that rarely gets recognized’ and ‘Fatal Attractionfor Gen Z.’
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Fourth goes to the second weekend of New Line’s Mortal Kombat II with $3.5M today and a $13M 3-day, -66%, for a 10-day of $61.8M. In reporting on this sequel last weekend, which in under expectations, we forgot to mention that its $38.5M domestic opening repped a franchise record (the first Mortal Kombat movie released in 1995).
Fifth is Amazon MGM Studios’ second frame of The Sheep Detectives with $2M today and $9M-$10M,-37%, for the 3-day with a 10-day on the high end at $30.3M.
Outside the top 5 are Black Bear’s In the Grey with around $1M today and maybe $3M for the weekend at 2,018 sites. At 2,295 theaters is Paramount’s 40th anniversary release of Top Gun with $650K today and $2.6M-$3M for the weekend. Amazon MGM Studios’ drama Is God Is at 1,510 sites is seeing north of $840K today for $2.3M estimated 3 day.
FRIDAY AM: Curry Barker’s romantic horror movie Obsession, which Focus Features/Blumhouse’s picked up for $15M+, has grossed $2.6M in previews between Thursday night and Wednesday shows.
Now get this, that number is higher than the previews for Paramount’s Smile, which were $2M, but that movie opened to $22.6M. It remains to be seen whether Obsession plays to that level. The pic’s comps are indie horror movies like A24’s Heretic and Talk to Me, and Obsession already has beaten those pics’ Friday previews, which were $1.2M apiece. Heretic opened to $10.8M and Talk to Me to $10.4M.
Heading into this weekend, literally as of Thursday, it was expected to be a faceoff between the fourth weekend of Lionsgate’s Michael and the third weekend of The Devil Wears Prada 2 with about $20M+ each. We’ll see if Obsession upsets. As we told you Thursday, the Barker film about a toxic relationship is winning critics and audiences over at 95% each on Rotten Tomatoes.
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YouTube filmmaker-turned-big-screen filmmaker Barker’s Obsession is booked at 2,615locations, which includes 435 PLF screens.
Amazon isn’t reporting grosses to its drama Is God Is, nor is Black Bear with its Guy Ritchie movie In the Grey. They are expected to open to around $3M and $4M+, respectively.
Here’s how the week went own at the B.O.:
1) The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Dis) 4,200 theaters, Wk $55.9M (-45%), Total $157.7M/Wk 2
2) Michael (LG) 3,550 theaters, Wk $52.6M (-29%), Total $256.6M/Wk 3
Note that Michael beat Prada 2 in weekdays on Monday, Wednesday and yesterday. Tuesday was a close call with both grossing $4.7M each.
3.) Mortal Kombat II (NL) 3,503 theaters, Wk $48.8M/Wk 1
4.) The Sheep Detectives (AMZ) 3,457 theaters, Wk $20.3M/Wk 1
5.) Project Hail Mary (AMZ) 2,417 theaters, Wk $9.2M (-23%), Total $330.95M/Wk 8
Let the record show that Project Hail Mary, sans any Oscar nominations (yet), saw its domestic cume rocket past Oppenheimer‘s final total ($330M) this past week.