With The Running Man and Predator: Badlands driving the weekend conversation, their box office performance continues to draw industry attention. The Running Man is aiming for a strong debut. Analysts are comparing its projections to the second-week results of Badlands. Early presale trends and competitive positioning keep both films at the center of this weekend’s theatrical outlook.
The Running Man predictions hint it’ll win the weekend box office
Industry projections indicate that The Running Man is tracking toward a No. 1 finish at the domestic weekend box office. Forecasts place the film near a $20 million opening, positioning it to surpass Predator: Badlands and to top the debut of Now You See Me 3. Deadline reports that the Paramount release has been marketed as a major wide-break title.
The Running Man is a $110 million adaptation of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film. Edgar Wright directs the new version. It is based on the 1982 Stephen King novel published under the name Richard Bachman.
The story follows Ben Richards, played by Glen Powell. He is a father forced into a televised survival race where contestants face professional killers over 30 days. The release spans 3,400 locations, with 1,000 of them using premium large-format screens. Previews begin at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Predator: Badlands enters its second weekend after earning $5.7 million on Veterans Day Tuesday, bringing its five-day total to $49.2 million. PostTrak reports a definite recommend of 78 percent, and audiences awarded the film an A minus CinemaScore, the highest in the franchise.
Projections place the title at around $16 million for the weekend, reflecting a 60 percent drop, and its PG-13 rating expands its audience reach. Data indicates that women over 25 made up 22 percent of its second-best demographic last weekend.
Tracking shows close presales between The Running Man and Now You See Me 3, but projections still place Wright’s film ahead. Lionsgate positions the magician thriller for broad appeal with Thursday afternoon previews.
Meanwhile, Neon expands Keeper to 1,950 theaters, with projections placing its opening in the low single digits. The film stars Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland and follows a couple confronting a property’s haunted past during a secluded anniversary trip.
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on ComingSoon.
