“Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” scared up $600,000 at approximately 1,000 locations at the Thursday night showings — the strongest opening of this weekend’s new films despite the limited number of theaters playing the sixth film in the horror franchise.
Several of the largest theater chains had opted not to book the film because of the studio’s experiment with earlier video-on-demand availability. The film could’ve made over $20 million if the studio had given the film its 90-day theatrical run. Instead, it is showing in 45 percent of the screens of the prior “Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones.” It is expected to rake in somewhere between $10 million and $12 million for Paramount.
Another horror-oriented film, Vin Diesel‘s “The Last Witch Hunter,” took in $525,000 on Thursday. The film, which cost about $75 million to produce, is expected to head into a $18 million debut weekend.
While it is gaining a lot of traction on Facebook and Twitter, it isn’t scoring so well with the critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the fantasy drama has a 17 percent score.
Universal’s “Steve Jobs” biopic made $294,000 on Thursday on its first night in wide release. The film plays in 1,748 theaters after having had a limited release in four theaters on Oct. 9, where it grossed $521,000. The following weekend, it expanded to 60 theaters and grossed over $1.5 million dollars.
This weekend, it is expected to make somewhere between $13 million to $17 million, while it had a production budget of $30 million. Reviews for the drama are extremely positive, with an 85 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Another wide release opener this weeknd, “Jem and the Holograms,” managed a meager $34,000 in 944 theaters.
The film is a reboot of the popular 1980s TV cartoon, directed by Jon M. Chu, is expected to make $4 million to $5 million this weekend.
However, while the series was highly popular, the movie doesn’t seem to be: Currently, it holds a 26 percent Rotten Tomato score.
Directed by Barry Levinson and produced by Jacob Pechenik, the musical comedy also stars Bruce Willis, Zooey Deschanel, Kate Hudson and Danny McBride. It cost $15 million to produce.
Lastly, “Suffragette” is also debuting this weekend. Set in the early 20th century, the drama follows a group of militant British women fighting for the right to vote. It stars Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter and was directed by Sarah Gavron.
The Focus Features drama is well-received by critics, who gave it a cumulative 79 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
If “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” makes up to $12 million this weekend, it will be the lowest grossing film in the franchise — the fifth movie in the series opened with $18.3 million and ended up making $32.5 million cumulatively.
It has a 20 percent Rotten Tomato score, while the first one released in 2009 had a stellar 83 percent score. This installment is in 3D.