Ava DuVernay’s adventure-fantasy is looking to supplant Marvel’s box-office leader, which is poised to cross the $1 billion mark this weekend after landing in its final foreign market, China.
Ava DuVernay’s A Wrinkle in Time — based on Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved book — has finally transported into theaters.
The fantasy-adventure, targeting girls, appears headed to as much as a $14 million opening day, after grossing $1.3 million in Thursday-evening previews for a projected debut that should climb above $40 million, provided poor reviews don’t ding the latest event film from Disney.
The big question is whether Wrinkle in Time can maintain a trajectory that will allow it to wrest the weekend crown from fellow Disney film Black Panther.
Now in its fourth weekend, Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther is looking as if it will collect as much as $10 million on Friday and should then go on to take in $40 million or more for the weekend as it prepares to jump the $1 billion mark at the global box office.
On Friday, the superhero sensation also is opening in its final foreign market, China, where it’s off to a rousing start with a projected opening-day gross of $22.7 million. That’s the third or fourth best start for a title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man Homecoming.
Both Black Panther and Wrinkle in Time have been heralded for their diversity, both in front of and behind the camera.
DuVernay is the first black woman to helm a $100 million movie, while Storm Reid plays the heroine at the heart of the story, 13-year-old Meg Murry. Reid stars alongside Oprah Winfrey, Levi Miller, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Chris Pine.
A Wrinkle in Time currently must also withstand a poor Rotten Tomatoes score of 42 percent.
Three additional movies open nationwide this weekend. Aviron’s The Strangers: Prey at Night, a sequel of sorts to The Strangers (2008), is showing the most strength, attracting more than $4 million on Friday, which could put it above the $10 million mark for the weekend. The film took in $610,000 in its Thursday night previews.
The other two new wide arrivals — Amazon Studios and STXfilms’ Gringo, a dark comedy starring David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron and Joel Edgerton; Entertainment Studios’ The Hurricane Heist, directed by Rob Cohen — aren’t expected to crack the $5 million mark for the weekend.
Meanwhile, Fox’s Red Sparrow, starring Jennifer Lawrence, which opened to $16.9 million last weekend, could drop by more than 50 percent during its second weekend. Its estimated Friday take of around $2 million to $3 million could contribute to a weekend tally of just under $8 million.
March 9, 1:05 p.m.: Updated to include early Friday estimates.
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