Fox’s “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” earned a strong $1.2 million from 3,000 locations on Thursday night.
That’s $100,000 more than what the first “Maze Runner” made on a Thursday in 2014. The film starring Dylan O’Brien in the lead earned $32.5 million.
Produced for $110 million, tracking suggests “Miss Peregrine’s” could take in $30 million this weekend, although the studio is being more conservative with a mid-$20 million gross.
“Miss Peregrine’s” stars Eva Green, Samuel L. Jackson, Judi Dench, Rupert Everett, Allison Janey and Asa Butterfield. Tim Burton directed, based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Ransom Rigs.
The fantasy film currently holds a score of 63 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. “Miss Peregrine’s” was produced by Chernin Entertainment.
This weekend also marks the opening of Mark Wahlberg‘s “Deepwater Horizon,” the drama about the drilling rig explosion in 2010. On Thursday night, the film earned $860,000 from 2,4000 North American locations. In comparison, “Lone Survivor,” a film on which director Peter Berg and Wahlberg worked together as well, grossed $1.5 million at the Thursday previews.
Directed by Berg, “Deepwater Horizon” also stars Kate Hudson, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich and O’Brien.
The film was produced for $100 million and is looking to make around $18 million by Sunday. Reviews have been good, however — The movie holds a score of 79 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Relativity’s “Masterminds” is finally hitting theaters this weekend after its release date was pushed around several times due to the financial troubles of the distributor. It is expected to gross $11 million.
Directed by Jared Hess (“Napoleon Dynamite”), “Masterminds” is based on a real heist that happened in the late 1990s. The Loomis Fargo Robbery in North Carolina — also known as the Hillbilly Heist — was the second largest cash theft on U.S. soil at the time.
The film stars Kristen Wiig, Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis — with appearances from Wiig’s “Ghostbusters” castmates Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones.
“Masterminds” scored 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.