In our predictions on Thursday we weren’t sure if Crunchyroll Studios release of One Piece Film: Red would have the power to take down Black Adam at this weekend’s box office. Well, early numbers are in and it appears Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam will remain the champ for another week as it posted around a $4 million Friday on its way to a projected $15 million weekend.
One Piece Film: Red is expected to land in second place with around $10 million. The animated film does not seem to be boasting the same numbers as the studios last effort: August’s Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero which opened in first place with over $20 million. As a person who isn’t into these animated films, I had at least heard of Dragon Ball, whereas I must admit I have absolutely no idea what this One Piece Film: Red is. Even with a soft stateside debut, the film is already a massive hit around the globe as it opened in Japan in August where it sold 2.25 billion yen, which translates to a little over $16.5 million, making it the highest August opening ever in Japan and second highest opening overall.
Third place looks to be another small drop for the Julia Roberts/ George Clooney light hearted rom-com Ticket To Paradise with a projected drop of under 30% for a $7 million weekend. The film may not be the $100 million hit one would expect with a movie starring these two leads, but the small week to week drops mean word of mouth is positive and with a healthy take around the globe already, the North American box office is really just the cherry on top.
Rounding out the top five are the two horror holdovers with Smile continuing its impressive run adding another $3 million to its coffers while Prey For The Devil looks to drop around 70% of its audience for around a $2.5 million weekend.
Did you head to theaters this weekend or was the streaming options of Causeway starring Jennifer Lawrence on Apple TV+ and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story starring Daniel Radcliffe on the Roku channel too much to pass up? (I must admit, I did stay in to watch Weird: The Al Yankovic Story and am very glad I did, as, for me, it is one of the funniest movies of the year.) Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to check back tomorrow when we have a full rundown of this weekend’s box office.