Weekend Report: ‘Tomb Raider’ Posts $2.1M Thursday Start; ‘I Can Only Imagine’ Overperforms w/ $1.3M; ‘Love, Simon’ Healthy at $850K

Weekend Report: ‘Tomb Raider’ Posts $2.1M Thursday Start; ‘I Can Only Imagine’ Overperforms w/ $1.3M; ‘Love, Simon’ Healthy at $850K
Friday Update: Tomb Raider led the new release charge on Thursday evening with an estimated $2.1 million start, according to Warner Bros. That comes in about 17 percent ahead of Ghost in the Shell‘s $1.8 million start last spring, a fan-driven flick that went on to earn $18.7 million during opening weekend. If Tomb follows a similar pattern throughout Friday/Saturday, it remains on course for an expected debut in the low $20 million range.
I Can Only Imagine took in $1.3 million last night, a very strong showing for the faith-based film from Roadside Attractions. By comparison, that’s 53 percent more than The Shack‘s $850,000 start last March. The latter title went on to earn $16.2 million for opening weekend. While Imagine could certainly continue to overperform, its disproportionate share of group sales could indicate significant frontloading toward Thursday evening (and likely Sunday as well). As such, projections remain volatile until we get a better sense of Friday’s business. Either way, this is a fantastic start for the film.

Meanwhile, Love, Simon got off to a healthy start with $850,000 last night, 60 percent more than Everything, Everything‘s $530,000 launch. The latter pulled an $11.7 million weekend, which could should be the absolute low-end of scenarios for Simon at this stage.

Last but not least, Black Panther added $3.6 million domestically and now stands at $578.3 million in North America. With its overall global take yesterday, the film now stands at $1.1264 billion, overtaking The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Transformers: Dark of the Moon to stand at 16th place on the all-time worldwide chart.

Official Friday estimates and early weekend estimates to follow on Saturday.
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