Power Rangers exceeded box office expectations on Thursday night, pulling in $3.6 million. This puts the franchise reboot on route towards a total domestic box office debut of somewhere between $30m and $40m, an estimate that should go some way to relieving worries at Lionsgate that they had a major flop on their hands. It also means the film is likely to surpass its release date competitors Life and CHiPS, which are expected to gross $15m and $10m this weekend, respectively.
It’s not all good news for the Mighty Morphers though, as the film isn’t going to get anywhere near the coveted #1 spot, having been seen off by the monstrous success of Beauty and the Beast. Power Rangers is also sitting at a not-exactly-great 44% on the Tomatometer too, but then again, its target audience probably doesn’t care what Rex Reed et al have to say, and is probably more concerned about the kickass robot dinosaurs, giant monsters and sweet fighting action. After all, given DC’s 2016 efforts, it’s doubtful that a bad Rotten Tomatoes score affects a blockbuster like this too much.
What all this means is that we’ll see at least some of Lionsgate’s planned six-film arc, taking this new team of heroes through all manner of galactic menace. Production for the Power Rangers sequel has, in all likelihood, begun in earnest, and we expect to get an official announcement from the studio in the very near future.
Until then, be sure to check out our review of the film to see what we thought of it.
