Weekend Projections: ‘IT’ Floating to More Records w/ $59M Sophomore Frame; ‘American Assassin’ Aiming for Solid $15M+; ‘mother!’ Debuting Softly w/ $7.5M

Saturday Update: Warner Bros. reports that IT added another $19.2 million on Friday, down just 62 percent from opening day last week and setting a new all-time record for a horror film’s second Friday gross. Of note, the film’s take yesterday also came in ahead of Deadpool‘s second Friday gross ($16.2 million). The Stephen King phenom has now tallied a stellar $177.9 million domestically in just eight days of release, putting it a whopping 157 percent ahead of the pace of Paranormal Activity 3 and 158 percent ahead of The Conjuring. For the sophomore weekend as a whole, we’re currently projecting another record take of $59 million, although it could potentially go even higher if Saturday business again bucks the trend of most horror films after opening weekend.

Debuting in a solid second place yesterday, American Assassin bagged an estimated $5.76 million for Lionsgate and CBS Films. That checks in about 6 percent ahead of John Wick‘s opening day back in October 2014 and slightly ahead of pre-release forecasts. Our current projections point to an overall $15.2 million opening weekend, although the studio is slightly more optimistic with a $15.5 million projection as of this morning. Initial word of mouth appears mixed with a 71 percent Flixster score this morning, on top of a “B+” Cinemascore and 37 percent critics’ rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

Paramount and Darren Aronofsky’s mother! also opened yesterday, although to less fortunate results with just $3.1 million — about 41 percent less than Crimson Peak‘s first day in October 2015. Competition from IT is certainly a major factor in the under-performance here, but early word of mouth isn’t encouraging either given its 44 percent Flixster audience score and “F” Cinemascore. Unfortunately, the film looks to fall short of already modest expectations with around $7.5 million this weekend.

Meanwhile, Home Again eased 46 percent from opening day last week to $1.665 million yesterday, giving it an eight-day haul of $13.5 million. Its second frame should ring up $5.4 million.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard rounded out the top five with $1.015 million yesterday, bringing it to $67.8 million domestically thus far. Look for a weekend around $3.5 million.

Key weekend projections are below with updated studio estimates to follow on Sunday.

WIDE (1000+)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 It (2017) $59,000,000 -52% 4,103 0 $14,380 $217,710,619 2 Warner Bros. / New Line
2 American Assassin $15,200,000 3,154 $4,819 $15,200,000 1 CBS Films / Lionsgate
3 mother! $7,500,000 2,368 $3,167 $7,500,000 1 Paramount
4 Home Again $5,400,000 -37% 3,036 96 $1,779 $17,201,084 2 Open Road
5 The Hitman’s Bodyguard $3,500,000 -27% 3,272 -50 $1,070 $70,307,040 5 Lionsgate / Summit
6 Wind River $2,500,000 -20% 2,619 -271 $955 $29,068,815 7 The Weinstein Company
7 Annabelle: Creation $2,200,000 -45% 2,117 -886 $1,039 $99,500,361 6 Warner Bros. / New Line
8 Leap! $2,100,000 -14% 2,416 -275 $869 $18,641,786 4 The Weinstein Company
9 Spider-Man: Homecoming $2,000,000 0% 1,436 -221 $1,393 $330,387,248 11 Sony / Columbia
10 Dunkirk $1,300,000 -30% 1,478 -632 $880 $185,136,652 9 Warner Bros.
11 The Emoji Movie $1,100,000 -3% 1,151 -299 $956 $84,010,035 8 Sony / Columbia
12 Logan Lucky $1,000,000 -40% 1,401 -766 $714 $26,830,100 5 Bleeker Street
13 The Dark Tower $730,000 -4% 1,235 287 $591 $49,895,105 7 Sony / Columbia

LIMITED (100 — 999)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Despicable Me 3 $910,000 -2% 983 -291 $926 $261,147,445 12 Universal
2 Girls Trip $580,000 -29% 733 -390 $791 $114,347,255 9 Universal
3 The Glass Castle $350,000 -34% 698 -339 $501 $16,722,327 6 LionsgateLionsgate
4 War for the Planet of the Apes $345,000 -23% 470 -183 $734 $145,857,510 10 Fox
5 The Big Sick $322,000 -27% 338 -197 $953 $42,491,321 13 Lionsgate
6 Cars 3 $200,000 -33% 259 -251 $772 $152,312,610 14 Disney
7 Hazlo Como Hombre $184,000 -53% 226 -156 $814 $2,366,528 3 Lionsgate / Pantelion
8 Atomic Blonde $163,000 -44% 270 -120 $604 $51,343,715 8 Focus Features
9 Kidnap $115,000 -45% 506 -412 $227 $30,415,881 7 Aviron Pictures
10 Tulip Fever $108,000 -62% 247 -525 $437 $2,230,721 3 Weinstein Company
11 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales $65,000 -31% 115 -28 $565 $172,541,644 17 Disney
12 The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature $46,500 -92% 846 -389 $55 $27,678,279 6 Open Road

PLATFORM (1 — 99)

# TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST.
1 Brad’s Status $90,000 4 $22,500 $90,000 1 Annapurna Pictures Releasing
2 47 Meters Down $39,000 -42% 96 -53 $406 $44,224,313 14 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
3 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $29,000 -45% 80 -49 $363 $389,806,864 20 Disney
4 Love, Kennedy $2,700 360% 6 2 $450 $399,858 16 Purdie Distribution
5 We Love You, Sally Carmichael! $600 -70% 4 -3 $150 $25,836 7 Purdie Distribution
6 Served Like a Girl $100 -79% 1 0 $100 $100 4 Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures

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Friday Update: CBS Films and Lionsgate report this morning that American Assassin earned an estimated $915,000 from last night’s opening shows. The studio is comparing last night’s debut to that of the first John Wick — which took in $870,000 on Thursday in October 2014 — and Mechanic: Resurrection ($390,000 in August 2016).

Paramount and Darren Aronofsky’s mother! bowed to $700,000 last night. That comes in about 19 percent behind Crimson Peak‘s $855,000 debut two years ago, while more than doubling the $300,000 launch of A Cure for Wellness.

Meanwhile, IT continued to rake in box office records with another $7.215 million on Thursday as a whole. That sets new benchmarks for Thursday gross by a horror film as well as the largest Thursday gross by a single film in September history, all while bringing its seven-day domestic cume to $158.7 million.

Official Friday estimates and key weekend projections will be posted here on Saturday.

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