Yes, “Barbie” spoiled everbody, with its blowout “previews,” blockbuster Friday and Saturday, $162 million opening and dash to $250 million+ on its opening week.
So when “Haunted Mansion” opened Wed. and Thursday to…$3.1 million. A modest but healthy $30 million weekend prediction went by the boards. Maybe $25 million, says Deadline.com.
Bad reviews aren’t helping. Fans of the Disney World/Disneyland/EuroDisney et al attraction may come, but nobody else.
The weekend belongs to “Barbie,” another $91 million, a $350 million or so take by midnight Sunday, $700 MILLION WORLDWIDE.
Wow.
A $14 million second Friday means “Oppenheimer” is skipping right past that three hour run time and thinking Christopher Nolan and “Event Picture” and a $46 million second weekend. Not “Barbie,” but a blockbuster by any measure. Add that to a $127.8 million from its first week, $200 million by the end of next week.
“Sound of Freedom” is heading for $13.8 million, better than “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning,” which is shedding screens. Lot of discussion in the internet about that Jim Caviezel plea for “Freedom” fans to “buy more tickets” in the closing credits and the movie apparently playing to empty houses, “astro-turfing” this fringe film’s popularity, several twitter accusers (with photo proof) called it.
Money is money. But that’s pathetic. Reminds me of the way various Trumps have bought their way onto the best seller lists. This time, it’s the easily-conned who are trying to game the system and make this movie appear more popular than it is.
The theater chains will probably indulge them, because they could use the cash. But you’re not fooling anybody, and there are better movies to actually buy tickets and see.
A24’s sharp edged horror tale “Talk to Me” is managing a decent $10 million first weekend.
The weekend’s all-in take/all-films — is nearly $220 million, pre-pandemic numbers and built on the back of two non-comic book/franchise pictures.


