Lionsgate and Kingdom Story's faith-based sequel I Can Only Imagine 2 is projected to open with $8 million to $10 million this weekend, placing third behind the ongoing battle for first between Sony's GOAT and Warner Bros/MRC's Wuthering Heights. The new release earned $1.8 million in previews, surpassing the original film's preview figure. Both GOAT and Wuthering Heights are expected to gross $12 million to $14 million each over the weekend.
The weekend box office is shaping up to be slower than last year's post-Presidents Day frame, which totaled $78 million, partly due to the absence of a major Marvel release like Captain America: Brave New World.
Sony's GOAT, an animated movie, earned $3 million on Friday across 3,863 theaters, with a 10-day cumulative total approaching $55.2 million. Warner Bros/MRC's Wuthering Heights, directed by Emerald Fennell and based on Emily Brontë's classic, took in $4 million on Friday at 3,682 locations, with a 10-day cume just under $60 million. Saturday matinees are anticipated to favor GOAT in the contest for the top spot.
I Can Only Imagine 2, directed by Andrew Erwin and Brent McCorkle, stars Milo Ventimiglia alongside the story of MercyMe lead singer Bart Millard facing a personal crisis amid success. The film grossed $3.75 million on Friday, including $1.8 million from previews ($1.3 million from Valentine's Day early-access screenings and $475,000 from Thursday night), at 3,105 theaters. This preview total exceeds the $1.3 million for the 2018 original, which opened to $17.1 million and finished with $83.4 million domestic on an A+ CinemaScore. No Rotten Tomatoes scores are available yet for the sequel.
Amazon MGM Studios' Crime 101 is projected for a $5 million to $6 million second weekend, with $1.7 million on Friday and a cume near $25 million. 20th Century Studios' Send Help, in its fourth weekend, expects $3.7 million (down 58 percent) for a $54.7 million total.
Smaller releases include A24's How to Make a Killing, starring Glen Powell, with $1.6 million Friday (including previews) at 1,625 theaters and a $3 million weekend projection; it holds a 48 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and was financed for a net $15 million. 20th Century Studios' Psycho Killer earned $700,000 Friday (including $250,000 previews) at 1,100 sites, projecting $2 million for the weekend, with 0 percent from critics and 34 percent from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
Trafalgar's documentary Man on the Run, about Paul and Linda McCartney's post-Beatles Wings era, grossed $501,000 Thursday at 421 sites. About 16 percent of K-12 schools remain on winter break, per Comscore, potentially influencing attendance.
The top five from the prior week included Wuthering Heights at $45.8 million in week one, GOAT at $41.2 million, Crime 101 at $18.9 million, Send Help at $51 million cumulative, and Solo Mio at $19.2 million cumulative.