It’s not easy out there in box office land.
Last night Brad Pitt’s “Bullet Train” sped to $4.6 million in previews. Now the whole ride depends on word of mouth and Brad’s good will as reviews are mixed to poor. “Bullet Train” could pull off a big Friday because theaters are air conditioned and a cheap way to escape the terrible weather “gripping the nation,” to quote Al Roker.
My guesstimate is a less than $40 mil weekend but who knows?
Meantime, “Nope” is losing 800 theaters today per Exhibitor Relations. It’s still playing in 3000 locations, but this is Universal’s way of acknowledging that Jordan Peele’s third movie is no “Get Out,” not a phenomenon, and the initial novelty has worn off quickly. This is the equivalent of Donna Langley coming out to the mound and removing Peele before things get worse. If only Aaron Boone would follow Langley’s lead more often, especially with Gerritt Cole.
Let’s not be be Koy: The other bust for the weekend looks to be Jo Koy’s “Easter Sunday,” which has a 33 on Rotten Tomatoes among critics and a low 72 in audience score. This is not going to be the Filipino “Crazy Rich Asians.” Total last night was just $500,000.
