Jennifer Lawrence’s ‘Red Sparrow’ Flies to Modest $1.2 Million at Thursday Box Office
Film faces off against strong holdover “Black Panther” and newcomer “Death Wish” this weekend
Beatrice Verhoeven | March 2, 2018 @ 7:27 AM
Last Updated: March 2, 2018 @ 9:05 AM
Fox
Jennifer Lawrence’s “Red Sparrow” grossed $1.2 million at the Thursday box office last night, with previews starting at 7 p.m.
Fox and Chernin Entertainment are expecting the film to open in the mid-teen range, with analysts predicting an opening in the low $20 million range. In comparison, Charlize Theron’s “Atomic Blonde” grossed $1.52 million in previews last year and went on to earn $18.2 million, while Scarlett Johansson’s “Ghost in the Shell” grossed $1.2 million in previews and scored an $18.7 million weekend as well. However, Emily Blunt’s “The Girl on the Train” also earned $1.2 million in Thursday previews and went on to gross $24.5 million its opening weekend in 2016.
Based on the novel by Jason Matthews, “Red Sparrow” stars Lawrence as Dominika Egorova, a Russian ballerina who suffers a gruesome, career-ending injury. With no direction in life, she is recruited into a secret spy agency where she undergoes training to seduce would-be targets into giving up information. But when she falls in love with CIA officer Nate Nash (Joel Edgerton), she considers becoming a double agent.
Francis Lawrence, who worked with Lawrence on three of the four “Hunger Games” films, is directing from a script by Justin Haythe. Jeremy Irons, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Mary Louise-Parker, and Ciaran Hinds also star. Reviews for the film have been mixed to positive, with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 52 percent. The film’s budget was a reported $69 million.
The other newcomer this weekend is “Death Wish,” which is expected to open in the high-teens against a $30 million budget.
The film is directed by Eli Roth and is a remake of the hit 1974 revenge thriller starring Charles Bronson who seeks to avenge his murdered wife and child. Bruce Willis takes over in the lead role, with Roth sharing writing credit with Joe Carnahan and Brian Garfield. Vincent D’Onofrio and Dean Norris also star.
Of course, “Black Panther” is set to win the weekend for the third weekend in a row. Last weekend, the Marvel movie had the second-biggest second weekend in box office history with $112 million, and could perform the same feat for the third weekend if it reaches analysts’ most optimistic expectations of a $75 million weekend.
On Thursday, “Black Panther” grossed another $6.6 million. So far, the film has grossed $435.4 million domestically and $780.3 million worldwide.
The Evolution of Jennifer Lawrence, From 'Winter's Bone' to 'Red Sparrow' (Photos)
Jennifer Lawrence has come a long way from her showbiz beginnings on TBS' "The Bill Engvall Show" in 2007.
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JLaw made one of her first red carpet appearances at the premiere of "The Burning Plain" at the 2008 Venice Film Festival.
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Lawrence won critical raves as Ree Dolly in the 2010 independent film "Winter's Bone," for which she earned her first Oscar nomination.
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Here's Lawrence at the 2011 Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala.
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And here she is arriving at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards for "Winter's Bone."
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Lawrence scored a nomination for "Winter's Bone" at the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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Lawrence appeared at 2011 Academy Awards, getting her first Oscar nod for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "Winter's Bone."
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Here's Lawrence as Mystique in 2011's "X-Men: First Class."
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Jennifer Lawrence mesmerized in an undulating blue dress at the 2012 People's Choice Award, where she scored two nominations for "X-Men: First Class."
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She became a box office sensation playing bow-and-arrow wielding heroine Katniss Everdeen in 2012's "The Hunger Games."
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Lawrence was solid gold at the 2012 Los Angeles premiere of "The Hunger Games," one of the roles that catapulted her to worldwide stardom.
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Lawrence crossed the pond for the European premiere of "Hunger Games" in style.
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And she sparkled in emerald at a 2012 screening of "The Hunger Games" in New York City.
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JLaw greeted adoring admirers at a "Hunger Games" fan event in Madrid.
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Lawrence went with a two-tone look at the 2012 Academy Awards announcement, one year before winning her first Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook."
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Here's Lawrence in her Oscar-winning role as the troubled Tiffany Maxwell opposite Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook."
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Lawrence stepped out at the New York premiere of "Silver Linings Playbook."
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JLaw sizzled in a cutout dress at the 2013 Critics' Choice Movie Awards, where she snagged two Best Actress awards for "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Hunger Games."
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Lawrence posed with her Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Award in the press room during the 2013 Golden Globes.
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Lawrence wore navy at the 2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards, where she picked up a trophy for "Silver Linings Playbook."
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Lawrence took a memorable fall when climbing the stage to accept her Oscar at the 2013 Academy Awards.
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She eventually made it to the stage to grab hold of her Best Actress award for "Silver Linings Playbook" at the 2013 Academy Awards.
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And then she changed into a metallic anthracite dress for the post-Oscars Vanity Fair party in 2013.
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Lawrence reprised her role as Katniss Everdeen in 2013's "Hunger Games: Catching Fire."
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JLaw went with all white at a "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" party at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
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Lawrence sizzled in a sheer dress at the 2013 Los Angeles premiere of "Hunger Games: Catching Fire," a role for which she would win an MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance.
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Lawrence played Rosalyn Rosenfeld, the wife of a con artist, in 2013's "American Hustle."
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Lawrence lit up the press room at the 2014 Golden Globes after winning the award for Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture - Drama, Musical or Comedy for "American Hustle."
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Lawrence wore a patriotic sequined look when she snagged a trophy for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for "American Hustle" at the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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Lawrence stood out in bright orange at the 2014 Academy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "American Hustle."
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Lawrence literally sparkled in a dress with a shattered-glass effect at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
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Lawrence took aim as Katniss Everdeen in 2014's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1."
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JLaw embodied the "China: Through The Looking Glass" theme at the 2015 Met Gala in New York.
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Lawrence took aim again in 2015's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2."
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Lawrence crossed the pond for the 2015 world premiere of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" in Berlin.
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And continued to the "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" London premiere.
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Lawrence went gothic at "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2" New York premiere in 2015.
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JLaw starred as Miracle Mop magnate Joy Mangano in 2015's "Joy."
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Lawrence blended into a white background at the New York premiere of "Joy" in 2015.
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JLaw stood out in red at the 2016 Golden Globes, where she took home the trophy for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for "Joy."
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Lawrence arrived at the 2016 Academy Awards in February, where she was nominated for her title role in "Joy."
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In April 2016, Lawrence joined co-star Chris Pratt on stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to promote their upcoming romantic sci-fi movie "Passengers."
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Here's JLaw reprising her role as Mystique in 2016's "X-Men Apocalypse."
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Lawrence sparkled in blinding silver at a May 2016 "X-Men Apocalypse" event in London.
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Lawrence seemed to be having a great time when she stopped by "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in May 2016.
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Lawrence starred as stranded space traveler Aurora Snow in "Passengers."
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Lawrence and "Passengers" co-star Chris Pratt got together after an interstellar journey goes awry.
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JLaw played a stay-at-home housewife whose world is turned upside down by the arrival of a mysterious couple in "mother!," directed by then-boyfriend Darren Aronofsky.
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She played a secret agent seeking her own agency -- as in, self-determination -- in the 2018 spy thriller "Red Sparrow."
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Oscar winner continues to dazzle
Jennifer Lawrence has come a long way from her showbiz beginnings on TBS' "The Bill Engvall Show" in 2007.