Sony/Crunchyroll’s Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc revved up $3.4 million in previews Thursday in screenings that began at 4 p.m. at 2,500 locations.
By the way, that preview number is close to the $3.8M posted by Demon Slayer: Mugen Train back in April 2021, on its way to a three-day total f $21.2M as movie theaters were reopening from Covid. That title, released by Funimation/Aniplex, had a Friday of $9.5M.
The Tatsuya Yoshihara-directed Chainsaw Man based on the popular manga is expected to ring up $11M+ in a weekend that might now be too close to call with Universal/Blumhouse’s Black Phone 2 with an expected $12M+ second frame.
Chainsaw Man is 100% fresh from 18 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and has a 99% audience score.
Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios’ $55M Scott Cooper-directed Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere strummed $850,000. The movie is expected to bring in $9M-$11M. Note that preview take is under the $1.4M Christmas preview gross of Searchlight’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, which went electric over the holidays with a $7.2M opening day, $11.6M 3-day and 5-day total of $23.2M. Springsteen is opening at 3,460 theatres including 250 Imax screens and 750 Premium Large Format screens. Critics aren’t wowed by this rock performer biopic at 61% fresh, but fans last night enjoyed it better at 85%.
Jeremy Allen White plays Bruce Springsteen and Jeremy Strong plays his manager Jon Landau in a semi-biopic about The Boss recording the personal 1982 album Nebraska which preceded his global phenomenon Born in the U.S.A.
Paramount is not reporting grosses on Regretting You given its limited run in under 500 theaters last night, with one showtime for the A Night of No Regrets fan event that included a Q&A with cast and director Josh Boone with a special performance by Hannah Cohen. Nonetheless, sources say the movie did better than Springsteen last night. Regretting You was forecasted at $9M-$11M this weekend in what is the second Colleen Hoover novel feature adaptation to hit the screen after the massive success of It Ends With Us. Critics don’t like the schmaltziness of Regretting You at 34% on RT, but there was also never beginning with them on It Ends With Us which they threw Kleenex boxes at with 54%.
Neon this frame has the psychological thriller Shelby Oaks, which did $515K from combined mystery screenings and last night’s previews. The movie is expected to file in the low single digits.
Black Phone 2 posted $1.6M yesterday, off 11% from Wednesday, for a first week of $36M, up 3% from its 2022 first chapter.
The rest of the top 5:
1.) Black Phone 2 (Uni) 3,411 theaters, Thu $1.6M (-11% from Wed), Wk $36M/Wk 1
2.) Tron: Ares (Dis) 4,000 theaters, Thu $698K (-22%), Wk $15M (-65%), Total $58.4M/Wk 2
3.) Good Fortune (LG) 2,990 theaters Thu $487K (-15%), Wk $8.7M/Wk 1
4.) One Battle After Another (WB) 2,532 theaters, Thu $350K (-18%) Wk $5.5M (-45%), Total $63.4M/Wk 4
5.) Roofman (Par) 3,370 theaters, Thu $346K (-17%), Wk $5.5M (-53%),Total $17.3M/Wk 2
From Deadline.com