Paramount's reboot of The Running Man, starring Glen Powell and directed by Edgar Wright, is projected to open with around $20 million this weekend, facing competition from the second frame of Predator: Badlands. Lionsgate's Now You See Me 3 also enters the fray with estimates in the high teens to low $20 millions. Neon's horror film Keeper rounds out the wide releases with low single-digit expectations.
Box Office Projections
The Running Man, a $110 million remake of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi action film, aims for the top spot with an estimated $20 million debut. Based on Stephen King's 1982 novel written under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, the story follows Ben Richards (Glen Powell), a working-class dad entering a deadly game show in a dystopian future to win $1 billion and save his sick daughter. Directed by Edgar Wright (Baby Driver), the R-rated film opens in 3,400 locations, including 1,000 premium large format screens, with previews starting Thursday at 7 p.m.
Challenging it is 20th Century Studios' Predator: Badlands in its second weekend, forecasted at $16 million, a 60% drop from its opening. The PG-13 actioner earned the franchise's best CinemaScore of A- and a 78% PostTrak definite recommend. It skews heavily male but drew 22% from women over 25 last weekend, adding $5.7 million on Veterans Day Tuesday for a five-day total of $49.2 million.
Lionsgate's Now You See Me: Now You Don't, the $90 million-plus third installment, targets high teens to low $20 millions as a potential date movie. The film reunites magicians for a diamond heist against criminals. Presales are close to The Running Man's, though tracking does not favor a number one finish. The 2016 sequel opened to $22.3 million domestically, ending with $65 million stateside and $334.8 million globally, including $97 million from China—though recent Hollywood softness there may impact this entry. Previews begin Thursday at 2 p.m.
Additional Release
Neon's Keeper, the third film from director Oz Perkins, expands to 1,950 theaters with low single-digit projections. This $6 million production, acquired globally by Neon for $4 million, stars Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland as a couple whose anniversary trip to a secluded cabin uncovers a haunted past, evoking 1970s horror like Rosemary's Baby. It tracks best with women under 25 and follows Perkins' higher-opening hits Longlegs ($22.4 million) and The Monkey ($14 million), though with reduced marketing spend under $10 million.