'American Made' On Pace for Second-Place Weekend
by EG
Tom Cruise really needs a box-office success if he wants to maintain his position as an A-list movie star, but it doesn't look like American Made is going to be that success. Cruise's action thriller performed decently on Friday, but it's likely to concede the overall weekend lead to Kingsman: The Golden Circle, last week's top movie. American Made could even give up second place to Stephen King's It, which is still going strong in its third week. On the bright side, American Made will certainly beat horror remake Flatliners, which is going to struggle to make half of the modest amount it was expected to pull in.
Doug Liman's American Made could narrowly win the Friday box-office race but lose the weekend to holdover Kingsman: The Golden Circle, according to early returns.
American Made, starring Tom Cruise, is projected to gross $5.5 million-$6 million from 3,024 theaters on Friday, including $960,000 in Thursday previews, for a modest weekend debut in the $15 million-$16 million range. That puts the biographical crime-thriller in a tight battle for second place with horror blockbuster It.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle, from 20th Century Fox, is tipped to earn $5.5 million on Friday for a three-day haul of $17.5 million-$19.5 million.
The verdict is out on Sony's horror remake Flatliners, which could earn anywhere from $5 million-$8 million for the weekend. Prerelease tracking had suggested the R-rated pic would clear $10 million.
Cross Creek Pictures financed and produced both American Made and Flatliners.
In Liman's film, Cruise as Barry Seal, the real-life TWA pilot who smuggled cocaine for the Medellin Cartel in the 1980s before turning CIA informant. Universal, which is handling American Made, is counting on the movie having a long run, thanks to strong reviews. Overseas, American Made has already earned more than $60 million.
Cruise could use a win at the North American box office after his last two movies, The Mummy (2017) and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016), turned in soft performances.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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