More drudgery at the spring break box office. Five — count ’em, five — wide releases are going this weekend in 1,000-plus theaters. None of them of will be able to put Disney’s embattled Snow White to sleep, with the live-action take on the Disney 1937 toon doing hopefully around $20M in Weekend 2, -53%. The princess who connects with birds and Bambis will have a hold that’s on par to live-action reimaginings of old Disney toons Maleficent and Cinderella, both of which eased by 48%. Snow White remains the fairest with a mix of Imax and PLFs. She’ll be sharing Imax with another Princess — Princess Mononoke.
Unless something magical happens for Jenna Ortega, Rachel Zegler will have bragging rights for No. 1. The Wednesday actress’ R-rated A24 horror movie Death of a Unicorn, starring Paul Rudd, won’t be able to budget past $5M-$7M at 3,000 sites. That’s far below Ortega’s past two Scream movies, which posted respective $30M and $44.4M debuts. The movie about a father (Rudd) who, while on a business trip with his daughter (Ortega), hits a unicorn on the road, setting off a horrific chain of events, got so-so reviews out of SXSW at 59% Rotten. Another situation withering away Death of a Unicorn‘s wishful prospects is that it shares first choice with women under 25 with Blumhouse’s PG-13 The Woman in the Yard. Yes, it’s a horror movie vs. a horror movie. The Universal release is booked at 2,800 theaters and is expected to do in the single digits.
The pic from Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra follows a mysterious woman who repeatedly appears in a family’s front yard, often delivering chilling warnings and unsettling messages, leaving them to question her identity, motives and the potential danger she might pose. Previews are Thursday at 2 p.m. Death of a Unicorn has special Alamo shows at 7 tonight, with previews starting at 4 p.m. Thursday.
This means second place goes to Amazon MGM Studios’ A Working Man from director David Ayer and starring Jason Statham, with a take between $10M-$12M. Ayer and Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay based on Chuck Dixon’s novel Levon’s Trade. Early last year, Amazon MGM Studios acquired North American theatrical distribution rights for the project before it went into production. A Working Man reteams the studio with Ayer and Statham after the success of The Beekeeper, which grossed more than $66M domestically and $162M worldwide. The pic is a Black Bear/Cedar Park/Punch Palace and Balboa Production. Men over 25 is the sweet spot. Critics reviews on RT are at 68% fresh, which isn’t far from Beekeeper‘s 71%. Previews start at 4 p.m. Thursday. A Working Man will have access to PLFs like Dolby and XDs.
Opening at 1,017 theaters is Sony Pictures Classics’ Peter Cattaneo-directed, The Penguin Lesson, starring Steve Coogan and Jonathan Pryce and inspired by the true story of a disillusioned Englishman who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976. Expecting an easy ride, Tom (Coogan) discovers a divided nation and a class of unteachable students. However, after he rescues a penguin from an oil-slicked beach, his life is turned upside-down. The pic world premiered at TIFF.
Also in the mix is Fathom’s The Chosen: The Last Supper at 2,234 locations. Both are expected to do in the single digits.
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