'The Girl on the Train' on Track to Top Weekend Box Office With $30 Million

DreamWorks Pictures murder mystery “The Girl on the Train,” starring Emily Blunt, is expected to have an easy time topping the box office this upcoming weekend.

An adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ best-selling novel of the same name, the film revolves around a troubled and eccentric divorcée who inserts herself into a missing persons case.

Trackers have the thriller topping $30 million, though studio estimates from Universal, the film’s distributor, are more conservative, have it safely exceeding $20 million in box office receipts.

Also Read: 'The Girl on the Train' Review: This Emily Blunt Thriller Gets Off Track

Either way, the prospects are good for “The Girl on the Train,” which was made for $40 million, not counting marketing costs.

Opening in 3,135 theaters, the film also features performances by Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Allison Janney, Edgar Ramirez and Lisa Kudrow.

The thriller was directed by Tate Taylor, who helmed the Oscar-winning film “The Help,” which was also based on a book.

Slavery epic “The Birth of a Nation” won’t fare as well, with projections set at roughly $9 million in opening grosses.

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Marked by an off-screen controversy around the 17-year-old rape accusation of filmmaker and star Nate Parker, the title will have a hard time meeting the initial expectations from when it was bought by Fox Searchlight at this year’s Sundance Film Festival for a record-breaking $17.5 million.

“The Birth of a Nation,” produced for a reported $10 million, stars Parker as Nat Turner, who led a 48-hour slave rebellion against his white masters. Armie Hammer and Aja Naomi King co-star alongside Jackie Earle Haley and Jayson Warner Smith. It will likely finish in third place this weekend, behind holdover “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”

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Another book adaptation opens this weekend with CBS Films and Lionsgate’s “Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life.”

Also Read: How Gabrielle Union Became the New Voice of 'Birth of a Nation'

Opening in 2,822 theaters, the coming-of-age comedy is expected to debut at just under $8 million. It was made for a reported $11 million, less marketing costs.

Directed by Steve Carr (“Paul Blart Mall Cop,” “Movie 43”), the film stars Griffin Gluck, Lauren Graham and Rob Riggle.

36 Movies That Have Grossed $1 Billion Worldwide (Photos)

Billion-dollar movies aren't as rare as they used to be. Still, there aren't that many of them. See them all here:
Disney/Marvel/Lucasfilm/20th Century Fox
"Incredibles 2" -- $1.00 billion and counting (Disney-Pixar, 2018)
"The Dark Knight" -- $1.00 billion (Warner Bros., 2008)
Warner Bros.
"Finding Dory" -- $1.02 billion (Disney-Pixar, 2016)

Also Read: 30 Highest Grossing Animated Movies of All Time Worldwide
Disney-Pixar
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" -- $1.02 billion (Warner Bros., 2012)
Warner Bros./New Line
"Zootopia" -- $1.02 billion (Disney, 2016)

Also Read: ‘Zootopia’ Joins Elite $1 Billion Global Box Office Club
Disney Animation Studios
"Alice in Wonderland" -- $1.03 billion (Disney, 2010)
Disney
"Despicable Me 3" -- $1.03 billion (Universal, 2017)
"Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" -- $1.03 billion (20th Century Fox)
Fox/Lucasfilm
"Jurassic Park" -- $1.03 billion (Universal, 1993)
Universal
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" -- $1.05 billion (Disney, 2011)
Disney
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" -- $1.05 billion (Disney/Lucasfilm, 2016)
Disney
"Toy Story 3" -- $1.06 billion (Disney, 2010)
Disney/Pixar
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" -- $1.07 billion (Disney, 2006)
Disney
"The Dark Knight Rises" -- $1.08 billion (Warner Bros., 2012)
Warner Bros.
"Transformers: Age of Extinction" -- $1.10 billion (Paramount, 2014)
Paramount
"Skyfall" -- $1.11 billion (Sony, 2012)

Sony
"Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" -- $1.12 billion (New Line, 2003)
New Line
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" -- $1.12 billion (Paramount, 2011)
Paramount
"Captain America: Civil War" -- $1.15 billion (Disney, 2016)
Disney
"Minions" -- $1.16 billion (Universal, 2015)
Universal
"Iron Man 3" -- $1.22 billion (Disney, 2013)
Disney/Marvel
"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" -- $1.23 billion (Universal, 2018)
"Beauty and the Beast" -- $1.26 billion (Disney, 2017)
"The Fate of the Furious" -- $1.26 billion (Universal, 2017)

Also Read: ‘The Fate of the Furious’ Revs Past $1 Billion Overseas
"Frozen" -- $1.28 billion (Disney, 2013)

Also Read: ‘Frozen’ Fans Ask Disney for Gay Elsa
Walt Disney Animation
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" -- $1.33 billion (Disney/Lucasfilm, 2017)
"Black Panther" -- $1.33 billion (Disney/Marvel Studios, 2018)
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" -- $1.34 billion (Warner Bros., 2011)
Warner Bros.
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" -- $1.41 billion (Disney/Marvel Studios, 2015)
Disney/Marvel
"Furious 7" -- $1.52 billion (Universal, 2015)
Universal
"Marvel's The Avengers" -- $1.52 billion (Disney/Marvel Studios, 2012)
Disney/Marvel
"Jurassic World" -- $1.67 billion (Universal, 2015)
Universal
"Avengers: Infinity War" -- $2.04 billion (Disney/Marvel Studios, 2018)
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" -- $2.07 billion (Disney, 2015)
Disney/Lucasfilm
"Titanic" -- $2.19 billion (Paramount, 1997)
Paramount
"Avatar" -- $2.79 billion (20th Century Fox, 2009)

Also Read: ‘Finding Dory’ Crosses $1 Billion at Box Office
20th Century Fox