Fox’s “Hidden Figures,” a drama about three female NASA mathematicians, earned $1.2 million at the Thursday previews, ahead of its wide release this weekend.
Thus far, the movie, starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, has grossed $2.8 million from 25 theaters. Starting Friday, it expands wide to 2,471 locations.
The film is expected to gross anywhere between $16 million to $21 million this weekend, although the studio is being a little more conservative with a $15 million to $17 million estimate.
Produced by Chernin Entertainment, the film also stars Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons and Mahershala Ali. It has a fresh rating of 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Focus Features’ “A Monster Calls” is also expanding to 1,500 theaters this weekend. As of Wednesday, the film had grossed $88,791 from just four theaters and has received critical praise — it currently holds a score of 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Analysts have the film starring Felicity Jones, Lewis MacDougall and Sigourney Weaver coming in at under $10 million. The film was produced for $43 million.
Screen Gems’ “Underworld: Blood Wars” is the wide newcomer this weekend, with Kate Beckinsale reprising her role as Selene.
With a budget of $35 million (“Underworld: Awakening” was produced for double that), the studio is expecting a low to mid-teen gross this upcoming weekend when it opens in 3,065 North American locations.
However, box office experts say that the power of “Underworld” should not be underestimated. After all, “Evolution” in 2006 opened to $26.9 million and “Awakening” grossed $25.3 million in 2012. Because of this, analysts say we could expect a gross between $17 million to $20 million.
Theo James, Lara Pulver, Tobias Menzies, Charles Dance and Bradley James costar in the Anna Foerster-directed film, which follows Selene, as she fends off brutal attacks from the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction. Reviews haven’t been great; it has a score of 10 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is expected to stay strong for its fourth weekend at the box office. On Thursday, it made another $3.8 million.
The “Star Wars” prequel has grossed $455 million domestically so far and is set to take the weekend with another $25 million to $30 million. It is expected to cross the $500 million domestic mark this weekend.