Always trust the nuns.
Warner Bros. and its New Line movie division are kicking off the September box office in style with the debut of The Nun II, which is on course to deliver a domestic opening of $30 million or more after topping Friday’s chart with $13.1 million, including $3.1 million in previews. Moviegoers between ages 18 and 34 made up 67 percent of Friday’s audience, while the pic skewed slightly female (52 percent).
In 2018, The Nun opened to $53.8 million domestically on its way to grossing a stellar $365.6 million at the worldwide box office, the top showing for any title in The Conjuring horror franchise, not adjusted for inflation.
Set in 1956, the sequel sees Taissa Farmiga — the real-life sister of Conjuring star Vera Farmiga — return as Sister Irene, who, despite her gentle demeanor, can handle any demonic challenge. Also returning is Jonas Bloquet, with newcomer Storm Reid (Euphoria) joining the cast as a young nun. Audiences gave the film a C CinemaScore, which isn’t unusual for a horror film. (The last Nun received an A).
Michael Chavis directed the pic after previously helming Conjuring installments The Curse of La Llorona and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.
The weekend’s other high-profile nationwide entry is romantic-comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, written and directed by series creator Nia Vardalos. In addition to helming duties, she stars opposite John Corbett. Focus Features is handling the film domestically, while Universal Pictures International has overseas duties.
The film is pacing to open to $9.5 million to $10 million based on Friday traffic.
The threequel, which follows the eccentric Portokalas family as they travel to Greece, is a follow-up to the wildly popular 2002 film and the not-so-successful 2016 sequel. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is once again produced by Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman. The threequel earned a B CinemaScore, versus an A- for the sequel.
The cast also includes Louis Mandylor, Elena Kampouris, Gia Carides and Joey Fatone, Lainie Kazan and Andrea Martin.
My Big Greek Wedding 3 is pacing to open in third place behind The Nun II and Denzel Washington’s holdover The Equalizer 3, which is estimating a second-place finish with a sturdy $11.7 million (numbers will be updated Monday morning.
Hindi-language drama-thriller Jawan, backed by Yash Raj Films, is looking at a fourth-place finish with an estimated $5.7 million.
Barbie could fall to No. 5 — summer really is over — with an estimated $5 million.
