Copyright Variety
A box office battle is brewing between Glen Powell’s dystopian thriller “The Running Man” and the heist threequel “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.” Those new releases will compete against last weekend’s champion, Disney’s “Predator: Badlands,” for the No. 1 spot in North America. According to projections, “Running Man” and “Now You See Me 3” are each targeting debuts of $20 million to $25 million. Meanwhile “Badlands” is aiming for $18 million to $20 million in its second weekend. For the newest “Predator,” that’s a standard decline of 50% from its franchise-best $40 million domestic debut. Paramount produced “The Running Man,” which is sprinting to 3,400 domestic theaters as well as 55 international markets. The film will test the box office bankability of Powell, who has been in commercial winners like the rom-com “Anyone but You” with Sydney Sweeney and the nostalgic “Twisters” sequel. “The Running Man” carries a hefty $110 million price tag and will need to stick around through the holiday season to justify its budget. Edgar Wright directed “The Running Man,” the second cinematic adaptation of Stephen King’s 1982 novel after the 1987 film with Arnold Schwartzenegger. (That version was neither a critical nor commercial hit.) Set in the dystopian near-future, the R-rated movie follows Ben Richards, a working class man who participates in a win-or-die reality competition show where he’s hunted on live television by professional assassins. He needs the grand prize, $1 billion, to save his sick daughter. Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin and Michael Cera round out the cast. Reviews have been mixed, with Variety’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman calling this take an “overelaborate reboot.” In his review, he wrote, “It’s better than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 version, but King’s prophetic tale of violence-as-entertainment-as-control has little future shock left.” “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” hails from Lionsgate and opens in 3,300 North American cinemas as well as 64 overseas territories. Domestically, the third entry is projecting a similar start to its predecessor, 2016’s “Now You See Me 3” with $22 million. The franchise is known to resonate more with audiences than critics. Despite mixed reviews, the first two films about the thieving illusionists known as the Four Horseman were commercial successes; the original grossed $350 million while the sequel generated $334 million. “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” carries a price tag above $90 million.
