Update for updates: New Disney/20th Century Studios mutants jumped early last night, generating $750,000 in a pandemic market where 62% of all movie theaters are open.
Studies have said the preview figures are not the best signs of the weekend box office. I disagree: it was more predictable during pre-pandemic periods. Now we don’t know what to expect.
These are the first notable Thursday Night previews for a primary studio film that have been reported since the weekend of March 13-1, 2005, the last time all primary tours were opened, and the last time the national weekend’s workplace reported in full before the pandemic closure. On the night of March 12, Sony’s Bloodshot released $1.2 million (before winning a first weekend of $9.1 million) in advances that began at five p.m. 2,631 screens; I Still Believe through Lionsgate had $780K (also an opening of $9.1M) on 2,600 sites plus Imax previews; while Universal/Blumhouse’s The Hunt earned $43,500,000 in 2,200 theaters starting at 7 p.m. (which translates into an opening of $5.3 million). And all this happened on a weekend when the feeling of the moviegoers increased due to the nervousness of the coronavirus.
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