SATURDAY AM: Warner Bros and Plan B Entertainment’s Mickey 17 is coming in at $19M-$20M after a $7.7M Friday and a B CinemaScore. What can we say? Original sci-fi is hard. Typically, we’ll rake a studio across the coals whenever they have a bomb, and this Bong Joon Ho movie was always destined to be one with its well north of $118M production cost before P&A. However, at a time when studios are trying to bring people back to cinemas, and keep the art of cinema alive, one can’t bat Warners over the head for taking a swing at the fences with an original movie.

The only fault here is the cost of the movie, which I’m being told by some is an extra $10M with reshoots on top of that $118M. Warners did push this movie with a spot during the NFL playoff game.

MORE…

FRIDAY AM: Warner Bros and Plan B Entertainment’s Mickey 17 did $2.5 million in box office previews Thursday night at 3,200 locations. Showtimes began at 3 p.m. for the sci-fi movie adapted and directed by Bong Joon Ho.

Tracking has the pic hoping to do around $20M. The global outlook as we told you is around $45M. It’s an expensive movie given that it’s original sci-fi, with an initial greenlight of $118M before P&A.

How that stacks up to other sci-fi movies: Mickey 17‘s previews are higher than that of Plan B’s other sci-fi movie Ad Astra from pre-Covid September 2019, which did $1.5M on its way to a $19M opening, a final domestic of $50M and $127.4M worldwide. That astronaut movie starring Brad Pitt cost $100M after reshoots. Mickey 17′s previews are also above the $1.45M in previews made by Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival in November 2016, leading to a $24M opening. Yet, it’s below the $3.5M made by Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, which went on to a $32.7M opening.

PostTrak exits last night for Mickey 17 were very good at 4 stars and a 63% definite recommend. Always note, the fans are out first on a Thursday, in this case the Robert Pattinson and Bong followers.

Rotten Tomatoes critics score is at 80% certified fresh, and audience score is at 81%. Hopefully that will give the latest from the multi-Oscar-winning Parasite filmmaker a lift this weekend.

The rest of the week was as follows:

1.) Captain America: Brave New World (Dis) 3,800 theaters, Thur $920K (-10% from Wednesday), Wk $19.3M, Total $168M/Wk 3

2.) Last Breath (Foc) 3,018 theaters, Thur $511k (-8%), Wk $10.4M/Wk 1

3.) The Monkey (Neon) 3,227 theaters, Thur $520K (-8%) Wk $8.8M/Total $27.1M/Wk 2

4.) Paddington in Peru (Sony) 3,705 theaters, Thur $421K (-3%), Wk $6.2M, Total $33.1M/Wk 3

5.) Dog Man (Uni/DWA) 3,055 theaters, Thur $288K (+3%), Wk $5.4M, Total $85.2M/Wk 5