Box Office: ‘No Hard Feelings’ Makes $2.15 Million in Previews

Brent Lang Executive Editor Sony’s “Insidious: The Red Door” scared up $5 million in Thursday night screenings, a strong start for the moderately-priced horror flick. It was also nearly enough to displace “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which made $5.2 million on the same day. Indy may still top the box office in its second weekend of release, but “Insidious: The Red Door” is proving to be more competitive than some thought. The latest installment in the long-running horror franchise is expected to net $25 million during its debut weekend. The weekend’s other major new release, Lionsgate and Point Grey’s “Joy Ride,” earned $1.1 million in Thursday previews. The R-rated comedy is expected to generate between $7 million to $9 million in its debut. “Joy Ride” is the feature directing debut of “Crazy Rich Asians” co-screenwriter Adele Lim. It’s the story of four friends who embark on a trip to help one member of their group find her birth mother. Raunchy detours ensue. Critics have praised “Joy Ride,” providing it with a 92% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu star in the film.

Sony/Stage 6 Films/Blumhouse’s fifthquel Insidious: The Red Door nearly locked out Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny yesterday at the box office. The Patrick Wilson starring and directed PG-13 horror film scared up $5M in previews at 2,806 locations that began showtimes at 4PM. That amount of money is very close to what Indy grossed, early estimates showing around $5.2M for the day in an awful week that ended at $94.5M for the $300M-plus grossing Disney/Lucasfilm finale sequel.

J. Kim Murphy “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is staying in line with some tempered box office expectations, still tracking to fall in line with estimates that had pegged the film with an opening between $80 million and $85 million through the Fourth of July holiday. The Harrison Ford finale earned $11.8 million on Monday, pushing its domestic total to $71 million. Unlike some other holidays, Independence Day isn’t exactly the largest box office booster — with families hitting the beach, barbecuing red meat and waiting for fireworks, filmgoing isn’t exactly at the top of the agenda for most Americans. Rather, it’s the time off around the Fourth that can offer some extra lift to studio tentpoles.

Refresh for chart…On the bright side for Independence Day bomb Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, its first five days at the box office of $82M aren’t as bad as Paramount/Skydance’s Terminator Genisys.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is stumbling in its box office debut, generating $70 million internationally and $130 million globally to start. Those ticket sales wouldn’t be bad for a film aimed at older audiences, except for the fact that Disney and Lucasfilm spent $295 million before marketing to bring the fifth and final action-adventure, starring Harrison Ford, to the big screen. “Dial of Destiny” is posting similar numbers to Warner Bros. and DC’s misfire “The Flash,” which opened to $75 million internationally and $139 million globally but cost $100 million less to make. Both tentpoles are expected to lose money in their theatrical runs.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Disney’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” lassoed the top spot on domestic box office charts, collecting an underwhelming $60 million in its opening weekend. That’s a decent amount of money for a tentpole that’s aimed at older audiences, but “Indiana Jones 5,” one of the most expensive movies ever, cost $295 million before marketing. It’ll take a heroic feat, one that would test even an enduring legend like Indiana Jones, for the fifth installment in the decades-old franchise to become profitable in its theatrical run. It was a disappointing weekend at the box office as “Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken,” a $70 million-budgeted family film from DreamWorks and Universal, cratered in its sixth-place debut with $5.2 million. In addition to “Dial of Destiny” and “Ruby Gillman,” the DC superhero adventure “The Flash” tumbled to the No. 8 spot in its third weekend of release with $5 million, another embarrassing 67% drop. It has yet to cross $100 million domestically, with ticket sales at $99.2 million to date.

J. Kim Murphy Indiana Jones has begun his last box office crusade, with the fifth franchise entry earning $24 million on its opening day from 4,600 theaters. It’s a figure that includes $7.2 million in previews in Thursday previews. The action-adventure film from Disney and Lucasfilm is expected to debut near the bottom of projections, projecting a three-day opening of $60 million or so. It’ll be more than enough for the Harrison Ford finale to land in the top spot on domestic charts, setting itself up to draw crowds through the Fourth of July holiday — but it’s not exactly the victorious tone-setter for one of the 20 or so most expensive blockbusters ever made. With a whopping $295 million production budget, “Indiana Jones 5” faces quite the trek to theatrical profitability.

SATURDAY AM: Refresh for chart…and more analysis Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is still bound to open at the bottom of end of tracking’s projection of $60M as this morning. I saw an estimate in The Flash vicinity of $55M last night and took an Alka Seltzer out of shock. Hopefully Dial of Destiny doesn’t fall apart tonight and at least stays on course for a Mission: Impossible – Fallout type opening in the $60M range over three days. That figure might be good for exhibition and popcorn sales over the five-day holiday weekend, but it stinks for a movie that has a reported cost of $250M to near $300M before P&A.

Jordan Moreau Harrison Ford is gearing up for his last adventure as Indiana Jones with $7.2 million in previews at the domestic box office. “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” opens in 4,600 theaters this weekend heading into the Fourth of July holiday on Tuesday. “Dial of Destiny,” Disney and Lucasfilm’s fifth and final film in the franchise, is expected to whip up $65 million in its opening weekend, a solid start except for the fact that the movie carries a massive $295 million budget. A portion of that went to de-aging special effects, which turned 80-year-old star Ford back into his younger self for the movie, which partly takes place during Indy’s early years. The $295 million budget does not include marketing costs to promote the film, such as an exorbitant Cannes Film Festival premiere and afterparty. Indiana Jones has overcome some eye-popping odds in his adventures, and “Dial of Destiny” turning a profit may be his greatest challenge yet.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is gunning for the top spot on box office charts. The fifth and final adventure to star Harrison Ford as the legendary, globe-trotting explorer is targeting at least $65 million from 4,500 North American theaters in its opening weekend. The latest Indy installment is also debuting day-and-date at the international box office, where it’s aiming to add $80 million for a global start of $145 million to $150 million. Those ticket sales are decent, especially for the fourth sequel to a decades-old property that’s aimed at older audiences. But Disney spent a mind-boggling $295 million to bring the action-adventure to life. That’s not including marketing costs, such as a no-expense-spared premiere and afterparty at the Cannes Film Festival where much champagne was tippled. Even in the best circumstances, it’ll take a heroic feat — and a lot of nostalgia from long-time fans of the series — for “Indiana Jones 5” to turn a profit in its theatrical run.

As the summer season shines onto the box office, movie grosses don’t match what they used to be in seasons past.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter In another universe, “The Flash,” once touted by its own studio as “one of the greatest superhero movies of all time,” would be towering over the box office with ease in its second weekend of release. But in this universe, audiences are flat-out rejecting the Warner Bros. movie, starring Ezra Miller as the eponymous, timeline-spanning speedster. Rather than taking a victory lap, the comic book adventure is cratering in third place with $15.3 million from 4,265 North American theaters, marking a brutal 73% decline from its unimpressive $55 million debut. That’s a far bigger drop than recent DC adaptations, including “Black Adam” (59%) and “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” (69%), which ended up as huge money losers for the studio.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The Jennifer Lawrence-led flick centers around a 32-year-old bartender and Uber driver who accepts a job to date a 19-year-old from a Craigslist ad created by his parents.Rolling Stone said the A-List actress is “easily the best thing in this comedy about a woman hired to ‘date’ a shy high school senior — yet not even foul-mouthed, no-filter J-Law can save this mess.”“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” crawled up to second place after being in third last week, earning 5.7 million. There was buzz from fans that a sequel to the flick would be released in March, but that rumor was dispelled from an anonymous artist who worked on the movie.“There’s no way that movie’s coming out then,” the employee dished to Vulture.“Everyone’s been fully focused on Across the Spider-Verse and barely crossing the finish line.

J. Kim Murphy “No Hard Feelings” came out on top of the domestic box office on its opening day, bedding $6.25 million in Friday and Thursday preview screenings from 3,208 venues. Meanwhile, the top spot for the weekend is a battle between animated adventures; both “Elemental” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” are staying above “The Flash,” which looks to be collapsing in its second outing. Heading into the weekend, “No Hard Feelings” was projected to launch with a mild $12 million. The raunchy R-rated Jennifer Lawrence vehicle is already outrunning those estimates, now forecasting a debut of $15 million or so. “No Hard Feelings” may lose pace to holdovers as the weekend unfolds, but box-office-king-for-a-day is certainly a higher honor than most studio comedies have achieved of late. The once-prolific genre has fallen far from theatrical relevance in recent years, with the past few months containing an expansive slate of box office disappointments and failures, from “The Machine” to “Easter Sunday” to “Bros.”

Sony’s new comedy “No Hard Feelings” is making a respectable run at the box office.

Sony’s mission to return comedy to the big screen with the R-rated Jennifer Lawrence movie No Hard Feelings began Thursday, when the film grossed $2.15 million from showtimes that began at 4 p.m. at 2,745 locations. The pic hopes to do around $12M this weekend in what will be second session where Warner Bros’ misfire The Flash hopes not take a -70% tumble. At the low end that’s $16.5M. A good hold will be off 55% to north of $24M.

Jennifer Lawrence’s much-discussed return to studio star vehicles, in a film being pitched as a canary in the coal mine for the theatrical strength of star-driven comedies, got off to a promising start as Sony’s “No Hard Feelings” earned $2.15 million in Thursday previews. Meanwhile, Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City,” which shattered records for a per-theater-average for a six-screen (or more) release last weekend, expanded into 1,675 theaters with $1.1 million for Focus Features.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Can an R-rated comedy that draws big laughs still bring in outsized ticket sales at the box office? Jennifer Lawrence’s “No Hard Feelings” will put that question to the test as the raunchy funny film opens over the weekend in 3,000 North American theaters, where it’s expected to earn a tepid $12 million in its debut. That’s not a terrible result at a time in which theatrical comedies, especially of the R-rated variety, have become something of endangered species. But it also wouldn’t be a great start considering its star power, $45 million budget and prime June release date. Earlier this year, Universal’s wild R-rated “Cocaine Bear” opened to $23.2 million — and (with all due respect to the drugged-up grizzly) that film wasn’t headlined by one of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Warner Bros DC’s The Flash, despite tumbling down with a $55M start, will remain atop the box office with a $16.5M-$24.7M second weekend take as the marketplace largely takes a breath sans tentpoles before Disney/Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny arrives for the Independent Day stretch. That weekend 2 slide for The Flash reps a 55% to 70% decline.

Had Katniss Everdeen and the “X-Men” series never gotten in the way — or, had we still lived in an era when superheroes or fantasy franchises were not seen as status symbols on the resume of a young superstar — Jennifer Lawrence would have already starred in numerous rom-coms by now, à la the Julia Roberts of the 90s. Especially after winning the Oscar for one a decade ago, with David O.