‘Old’ Takes Narrow Lead Over ‘Snake Eyes’ at Muted Box Office

M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film is set for a $15 million opening

Universal’s “Old” is poised to take No. 1 at a muted box office, earning $6.8 million from 3,355 screens on Friday to earn an estimated $15.75 million opening.

While that meets tracker and studios projections, it is also the lowest opening weekend ever for director M. Night Shyamalan, falling below the $18 million earned by “Lady in the Water” in 2006. Such numbers can partly be attributed to the still-recovering box office, which may be seeing its attempts to rebuild hindered by the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

But “Old” has also received tepid reviews from critics and audiences, earning a 52% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and a C+ from CinemaScore audience polls. The good news is that “Old” should easily turn a profit with a reported production budget of $18 million, and despite the number it is Shyamalan’s seventh No. 1 film.

In second is Paramount’s “Snake Eyes,” which was released on 3,521 screens and grossed $5.5 million on Friday. The “G.I. Joe” film is shaping up to be a box office bust with industry estimates giving the film just a $14 million opening, well below the $51 million 4-day opening earned by “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” in 2013. The film was co-produced by Hasbro and Skydance with MGM also attached as a co-financier.

In third is Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow,” which will cross the $150 million mark in its third weekend with an estimated $11 million total. Warner Bros.’ “Space Jam: A New Legacy” is in fourth, taking a steep drop from its $31 million opening with an estimated $8.7 million second weekend total and a $50.5 million 10-day total. The 72% drop is consistent with many films that have been released simultaneously in theaters and for home release.

Universal’s “F9” completes the top five with an estimated $4.5 million in its fifth weekend, bringing its total to $163 million, the highest for any post-pandemic release in the U.S.

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