Author: Dave McNary / Source: Variety
Shark thriller “” swam to an impressive $4 million on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, Sony’s horror movie “Slender Man” launched with $1 million at 2,109 sites in previews. Focus Features did not release numbers for Spike Lee’s crime drama “BlacKkKlansman.”
Warner Bros.
’ “The Meg,” starring Jason Statham, has been forecast to finish in the $20 million to $22 million range at 4,118 domestic sites during its opening weekend. That may be enough to take first place away from the third frame of Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” which has hauled a strong $138.6 million domestically in its first 13 days.“The Meg,” directed by Jon Turteltaub, is based on Steve Alten’s 1997 book, “Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror.” The story follows efforts by scientists — played by Statham, Li Bingbing, Winston Chao, and Ruby Rose — to stop a prehistoric 75-foot Megalodon shark from terrorizing a beach in China.
“The Meg” is a co-production with China’s Gravity and carries a $150 million price tag, meaning that the studio is counting on substantial overseas business. The movie is also opening in China, Russia, Spain, and the U.K. this weekend. The Thursday night preview number for “The Meg” was double that of Dwayne Johnson’s “Skyscraper,” which debuted to $24 million in the U.S. and $48 million in China.
“The Meg” opened with an estimated $15 million in China on Friday, giving it third place behind two local comedies.
“The Meg” has received mixed reviews from critics and carries a 51%…
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