Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro) has returned to Mexico — and movie theaters — with Columbia’s “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” the sequel to Denis Villeneuve and Taylor Sheridan’s 2015 acclaimed thriller “Sicario.” Opening at 2,669 locations, the film made $2 million on Thursday from preview screenings.
Comparisons to the first “Sicario” are somewhat difficult, as that film had a two week run in limited release before expanding wide. However, the first “Sicario” did have a wide opening weekend of $12.1 million, and Sony is projecting that “Soldado” will match that amount.
Meanwhile, with a cast led by “Get Out” breakout star Lil Rel Howrey and NBA ace Kyrie Irving, Lionsgate’s “Uncle Drew” entered into theaters on Thursday night and earned $1.1 million in preview screenings from 2,200 locations. The film will expand to 2,749 screens for opening weekend.
The basketball comedy is expected to have a solid $10-13 million opening against a reported budget in the high teens. But it and “Soldado” will have to compete against each other for the No. 3 spot on the charts this weekend, as “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” and “Incredibles 2” are expected to make another 1-2 finish.
“Sicario: Day of the Soldado” stars del Toro as Alejandro Gillick, who is sent back into Mexico with a new partner (Josh Brolin) as they plan a false flag operation to destroy an alliance of cartels that are smuggling terrorists into the U.S.. But when the Mexican government catches wind of it, the plan collapses, forcing Gillick to decide just how much life he is willing to take. Stefano Sollima takes over as director, with Sheridan returning as screenwriter.
“Uncle Drew” stars Howrey as an aspiring street baller who loses the team he was planning to enter into the Rucker Park tournament to his bitter rival (Nick Kroll). But his life changes when he stumbles across Uncle Drew, convincing him to round up a team of fellow seventy-somethings to turn back the clock. Tiffany Haddish, JB Smoove, Erica Ash, and Mike Epps, along with retired NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Nate Robinson, and Lisa Leslie.