Just when it looked as though the theatrical industry was set to regain some level of serious momentum thanks to the bumper opening weekends posted by Fast & Furious 9 and Black Widow, we’re facing another underwhelming weekend, but a victory for M. Night Shyamalan’s Old nonetheless.
That’s good news for the polarizing filmmaker, and continues his recent winning streak after The Visit, Split and Glass all ended up significantly in the red. Old is expected to take the top spot with a little over $15 million over the three-day frame. That isn’t a spectacular number, but with a budget of just $18 million, it does mean the mystery thriller should be turning a profit in short order.
Unfortunately, it’s bad news for Snake Eyes, which cost over four times as much to make as Old, and is poised to nab the runner-up spot with $14 million. The third fresh start for the G.I. Joe franchise will be the first not to debut at number one, and it’s already guaranteed to become the only installment that’ll fail to crack $300 million globally. In fact, unless it performs spectacularly overseas when it starts rolling out over the next few weeks, it won’t even come close.
Reviews have been middling for both, although Old‘s 52% Rotten Tomatoes score outstrips’ Snake Eyes‘ 42%, and the rest of the top five will be filled out by holdovers and former champions Space Jam: A New Legacy, Black Widow and F9 in another disappointing week for theaters in general. Things could be about to pick up, though, with Dwayne Johnson’s Jungle Cruise, James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy arriving across the next three consecutive weekends.
