UPDATE FRIDAY MIDDAY: Wow. Neon is seeing its biggest opening weekend in the company’s seven-year history as Oz Perkins’ Longlegs is looking at a $9M-$10M Friday and opening weekend between $20M-$23M at 2,510 theaters.
While that’s a solid No. 2 behind Universal/Illumination’s second weekend of Despicable Me 4 ($12.5M Friday, $41M 3-day, -45% for a running total of $207.4M) at 4,449 theaters, it’s also the best original horror opening of 2024; many of those films opened in the $8M-$11M range since January. Even if Longlegs falls back to the high-teens, it’s still a great unexpected result from Neon, which had its previous best weekend opening in March for Sydney Sweeney’s Immaculate ($5.3M).
Important to note on DM4 that with today’s business, the fourthquel will put the Despicable Me/Minions franchise across the $5 billion mark worldwide, becoming the first animated feature series to ever hit that milestole.
RELATED: The Highest-Grossing Animated Films Of All Time At The Box Office: Photo Gallery
Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 booked at 3,815 venues is looking at a fifth Friday of $6M, for a fifth weekend between $19M-$20M, -36%, for a running total of $571.8M at the high-end by Sunday.
Fourth goes to Paramount’s third weekend of A Quiet Place: Day One at 3,378 theaters with a third Friday of $3.8M, 3-day of $12.1M (-41%), and running total by Sunday of $116.5M.
Sony Pictures Releasing
Apple Original Films’ rom-com Fly Me to the Moon is eyeing $4M today with a shot at $10M-$11M in 5th place at 3,356 theaters via Sony. Grosses are gaining with momentum seen in the South Central, West and Mountain region. The Greg Berlanti directed title was made for $100M before P&A. The biggest opening for an Apple Original Film remains last year’s Killers of the Flower Moon at $23.2M, which was an amazing feat as the 3-hour historical drama opened sans stars’ promotions during the actors strike.
FRIDAY AM UPDATE, AFTER EXCLUSIVE: Neon’s Longlegs hit $3M on Thursday night, according to Neon. As we mentioned, this is a record for the specialty distributor. Quorum’s Friday-morning tracking is predicting that the Oz Perkins horror film could do $14M-$17M, while the Sony-distributed Apple movie Fly Me to the Moon is eyeing $12M-$15M. Quorum is seeing “an engaged and growing core” for Longlegs.
That said, Thursday night’s audience registered a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes and 3 stars on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak, with critical score settling at 90% certified fresh, which indicates a divide between reviewers and audiences. We’ll see how that plays out. Longlegs attendance Thursday night counted 57% guys, with the 18-34 demo showing up at 72%. Here’s the trailer:
Fly Me to the Moon, starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum grossed $875K Thursday off showtimes started at 3 p.m. As we told you, it’s not a Thursday night movie that packs in moviegoers. It’s a Friday night and Saturday movie. However, 51% males/49% females showed and enjoyed it at 4½ stars and 88% positive on PostTrak. Females gave it a 92% grade. Reviews are at 65% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here is the rest of the top 5 pics in regular release:
1. Despicable Me 4 (Uni) 4,428 theaters Thu $9.1M (-11% from Wednesday), Wk $118.8M, Total $166.4M/Wk 1
2. Inside Out 2 (Dis) 3,760 theaters Thu $3.9M (-10%) Wk $48M, Total $551.8M/Wk 4
3. A Quiet Place: Day One (Par) 3,688 theaters, Thu $2.1M (-12%) Wk $31M, Total $104.4M/Wk 2
4. Bad Boys: Ride or Die (Sony) 2,644 theaters, Thu $679K (-8%) Wk $9.6M, Total $180.4M/Wk 5
5. MaXXXine (A24) 2,450 theaters, Thu $521K (-22%), Wk $9.3M/Wk 1
EXCLUSIVE: Everyone in distribution loves a surprise, and spurring a lot of chatter throughout is the $2.5M-$3M in Thursday previews for Neon’s serial killer horror movie Longlegs, starring Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe. This is per box office sources tonight.
For the specialty distributor with a penchant Palme d’Or-winning movies, that’s the best take ever in Thursday night previews for one of its movies, outstripping the sub-$1M Thursday for the Sydney Sweeney genre pic Immaculate, which became its highest-opening title ever at the domestic B.O. with $5.3M last spring.
If Longlegs stays firm, it could bode for a $10M-$15M opening; some even are buzzing that it could best Apple Original Film/Sony’s Scarlett Johansson-Channing Tatum rom-com, Fly Me to the Moon, which was projected to do $12M. That movie currently is seeing $800K-$900K after shows that began at 3 p.m. However, Fly Me to the Moon isn’t a Thursday night crowd type of movie, more Friday night and Saturday. Originally, Longlegs was projected to do in the high single digits.
In Longlegs, Monroe plays an FBI agent who is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. She learns of a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again. Cage also stars, but Neon has kept him out of all the ad materials. The distrib rolled out cryptic clips leading into the first trailer. Get a load of the latest stunt for the movie: Teaming with Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn, Neon gave teens the chance to see Longlegs on Friday night sans parents. Their chaperones at the cinema? Don’t worry, Mom and Dad, there will be bloody nuns on hand to make sure nothing happens to them.
Critics love writer-director Oz Perkins’ Longlegs, making it 92% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
