EARLY SATURDAY AM WRITETHRU after Friday Afternoon update: Lionsgate’s Michael is the hit that keeps on giving with an expected No. 1 in weekend four of $27M per industry estimates, -29%, after what’s looking like a $7M Friday at 3,560 theaters. Imax and PLF screens are giving the biopic some extra dance moves this weekend. This will ease Michael down the road to a running domestic take of $283.6M. If that cume holds, the Michael Jackson biopic will moonwalk past Lionsgate’s Pre-Covid 2015 hit, Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 ($281.7M final domestic). When it comes to biopics, Michael looks to be pacing +7% ahead of Oppenheimer through its fourth weekend, that Christopher Nolan directed title finaling at $330M.
In second, it’s 20th Century Studios/Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 at 3,830 theaters with an estimated $5.4M third Friday for what could be a $20M third weekend. That’s -52% for a running cume on the high end by Sunday of $177.8M.
Michael Johnston in ‘Obsession‘
Focus Features
Focus Features’ Curry Barker horror movie Obsession scared up a $6.6M Friday for what’s looking like a third-place take of $14M at 2,615 sites, well ahead of the $8M-$9M that was expected. Obsession received the best CinemaScore out of this weekend’s wide entries with A-. That amount is just $3.8M shy of the $17.8M opening of Markiplier’s indie Iron Lung. Realize that Obsession is an original movie from a YouTuber; versus Iron Lung which was based on a videogame, and the upcoming A24’s Backrooms which is based on previous digital IP.
With 102.2 million social media followers across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X and Facebook, per RelishMix, Obsession is just under such original horror pics social media universes as Longlegs (130.5M), The Black Phone (141.3M) and Abigail (108.5M).
Says RelishMix: “Convo runs positive for Obsession and plays like a horror fandom pressure cooker where monkey’s paw references and genuine breakout-director hype are all feeding the same machine. Curry Barker emerges as the brand asset, with commenters treating the film less like disposable Blumhouse programming and more like an indie horror graduation moment. The ‘crazy girlfriend’ premise is landing because audiences see it as Fatal Attraction for TikTok brain, with references spanning Pearl, Swimfan, The Substance, Twilight Zone, Fairly OddParents, Tales from the Crypt and Sleepaway Camp. Smart chatter praises the trailer’s restraint, sound design and emotional cruelty more than gore, which is rare air for internet horror discourse. Advanced screening reactions are especially potent because they frame Obsession as emotionally disturbing instead of merely loud. ‘Just because you chose this for her doesn’t make it less real…that is an INCREDIBLE line.’ ‘This movie, man. It is like gore for the soul’ plus ‘Going from hilarious videos to terrifying horror films, Curry has the kind of gift that rarely gets recognized’ and ‘Fatal Attraction for Gen Z.’
Focus Features and Blumhouse took Obsession to Overlook, Panic Fest, Fantastic Fest, and SXSW to dru up support among potential fans. The tchotchkes for the film were unveiled three from shirts to Post-Its on bathroom mirrors with cryptic sayings from the demonized girlfriend in the film, Nikki.
Apparently, the studio made their own One Wish Willows, the magical device at the center of the film that grants Bear his terror-inducing wish. Fans rushed to get their own with the product selling out within hours. The commercial alone amassed more than 4.4M views on YouTube alone.
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Fourth goes to the second weekend of New Line’s Mortal Kombat II with $3.5M Friday and an estimated $12.7M– $13M 3-day, -66%, for a 10-day of $61.8M. In reporting on this sequel last weekend, which in under expectations, we forgot to mention that its $38.5M domestic opening repped a franchise record (the first Mortal Kombat movie released in 1995).
Fifth is Amazon MGM Studios’ second frame of The Sheep Detectives with $2.3M Friday and $9.8M,-35%, for the 3-day with a 10-day on the high end at $30.1M.
Outside the top 5 are Black Bear’s In the Grey with around $1.2M Friday and $3M for the weekend at 2,018 sites. While not an amazing weekend, the Guy Ritchie movie gets a B CinemaScore. Let’s see where this goes overseas with its foreign partners. You’ll remember with Ritchie’s Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, 87% of its near $49M global haul was made abroad. At 2,295 theaters is Paramount’s 40th anniversary release of Top Gun with $740K Friday and $2.9M-$3.2M for the weekend and a running cume of $4.7M. Amazon MGM Studios’ drama Is God Is with a B+ CinemaScore at 1,510 sites is seeing north of $850K Friday for $2.1M estimated 3 day.
FRIDAY AM: Curry Barker’s romantic horror movie Obsession, which Focus Features/Blumhouse’s picked up for $15M+, has grossed $2.6M in previews between Thursday night and Wednesday shows.
Now get this, that number is higher than the previews for Paramount’s Smile, which were $2M, but that movie opened to $22.6M. It remains to be seen whether Obsession plays to that level. The pic’s comps are indie horror movies like A24’s Heretic and Talk to Me, and Obsession already has beaten those pics’ Friday previews, which were $1.2M apiece. Heretic opened to $10.8M and Talk to Me to $10.4M.
Heading into this weekend, literally as of Thursday, it was expected to be a faceoff between the fourth weekend of Lionsgate’s Michael and the third weekend of The Devil Wears Prada 2 with about $20M+ each. We’ll see if Obsession upsets. As we told you Thursday, the Barker film about a toxic relationship is winning critics and audiences over at 95% each on Rotten Tomatoes.
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YouTube filmmaker-turned-big-screen filmmaker Barker’s Obsession is booked at 2,615 locations, which includes 435 PLF screens.
Amazon isn’t reporting grosses to its drama Is God Is, nor is Black Bear with its Guy Ritchie movie In the Grey. They are expected to open to around $3M and $4M+, respectively.
Here’s how the week went own at the B.O.:
1) The Devil Wears Prada 2 (Dis) 4,200 theaters, Wk $55.9M (-45%), Total $157.7M/Wk 2
2) Michael (LG) 3,550 theaters, Wk $52.6M (-29%), Total $256.6M/Wk 3
Note that Michael beat Prada 2 in weekdays on Monday, Wednesday and yesterday. Tuesday was a close call with both grossing $4.7M each.
3.) Mortal Kombat II (NL) 3,503 theaters, Wk $48.8M/Wk 1
4.) The Sheep Detectives (AMZ) 3,457 theaters, Wk $20.3M/Wk 1
5.) Project Hail Mary (AMZ) 2,417 theaters, Wk $9.2M (-23%), Total $330.95M/Wk 8
Let the record show that Project Hail Mary, sans any Oscar nominations (yet), saw its domestic cume rocket past Oppenheimer‘s final total ($330M) this past week.
