Warner Bros./Village Roadshow’s “Ocean’s 8” is off to a good start at the box office, earning $15.4 million on Friday from 4,145 screens, as industry estimates put the film’s opening weekend total at $41 million. That would be a higher opening than any of the films in Steven Soderbergh’s “Ocean’s” trilogy, including the current franchise record of $39.1 million for “Ocean’s 12.”
While those films would still have higher openings if inflation is taken into account — “Ocean’s Eleven,” which opened in 2001, would have a $61 million launch in today’s money — it’s a sign that “Ocean’s 8” is on its way to the same long-lasting box office success as its male-cast counterparts.
The “Ocean’s” trilogy was known for posting modest openings that went on to more-than quadrupled their launch totals in their domestic runs.
Similarly, “Ocean’s 8” will hope to bring in female audiences throughout June, when its main competition in the coming weeks, “The Incredibles 2” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” will be catering to different demographics.
“Ocean’s 8” has performed solidly with critics and audiences, earning a 69 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ on CinemaScore, as did “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Ocean’s Thirteen” upon their respective releases.
Sitting in second is the struggling “Solo: A Star Wars Story” with $14.3 million in its third weekend, followed by “Deadpool 2” with an estimated $13.4 million in its fourth weekend. In fourth is A24’s horror film “Hereditary,” which could set an opening weekend record for the indie studio if it can hold on to its estimated $11-12 million start from 2,964 screens. The previous record for A24, which usually deals in limited releases, is the 2016 horror film “The Witch” with $8.8 million.
But like “The Witch” and A24’s previous summer horror release, “It Comes at Night,” there’s a gulf between critical and opening night audience reception for “Hereditary.” While critics have lauded the horror film with a 94 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, audiences panned it with a D+ on CinemaScore. A24 horror films have become known for pushing audiences beyond their comfort zone, as “The Witch” earned a C- on opening night, while “It Comes at Night” earned an F.
“Avengers: Infinity War,” which is expected to cross $2 billion worldwide this weekend, completes the top five with an estimated $6.7 million, pushing its domestic total past $650 million. Outside the top five is Global Road’s “Hotel Artemis,” which is expected to fall short of tracker projections and flop with just $3.2 million from 2,407 screens. Pre-weekend projections had the film making $6-8 million.
Despite a stacked cast including Jodie Foster, Jeff Goldblum and Dave Bautista, the film has received mediocre reviews with a 59 percent RT score and a C- from CinemaScore polls.