Tom Cruise’s latest, the Jack Reacher sequel, cruised to $1.3 million in previews while Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween scared up $855,000 Thursday night. Prequel Ouija: Origin of Evil took in $722,000 in late night shows in 2,371 theaters.
Both Reacher and Boo! are on track to open in the high-teen million to $20 million range, according to prerelease estimates.
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, a sequel to 2012’s Jack Reacher, is an adaptation of Lee Child’s book series about an ex-military policeman fighting for justice wherever he goes. The Paramount and Skydance Productions film, directed by Edward Zwick and costing $60 million to make, also stars Cobie Smulders and Aldis Hodge.
The first film opened to $15 million over the Dec. 21-23 weekend in 2012 and earned $218.3 million worldwide.
Never Go Back also is opening day-and-date in 40 international territories — including China, where the studio has struck a major local partnership — and those behind the movie expect it to do strong business overseas, where Cruise remains a big star.
Perry wrote, directed and stars in Boo! A Madea Halloween, a comedy-horror film that originated from a fake Madea movie featured in the Chris Rock film Top Five.
The film, which also stars Bella Thorne, Diamond White and Cassi Davis, follows Perry’s Madea character as she spends a haunted Halloween fending off killers, paranormal poltereists, ghosts, ghouls and zombies while keeping a watchful eye on a group of misbehaving teens.
Another Halloween offering this weekend is Universal and Blumhouse Productions’ Ouija: Origin of Evil. Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes and Hasbro, maker of the classic board game Ouija, also partnered on the prequel, which also is tracking to open in the mid-teen millions. It cost less than $9 million to make.
The 2014 film Ouija earned $911,000 in previews in October 2014 for a debut of $19.9 million. It earned $103.6 million overall.
Directed by Mike Flanagan, the film is set in 1967 in Los Angeles where a widowed mother and family fake séance as part of a scam for a living.
This weekend’s fourth new nationwide offering, Fox 2000’s comedy Keeping Up With the Joneses, is expected to open to $6 million-$7 million. Directed by Greg Mottola, the $40 million film stars Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot.
The story follows a suburban couple who discover that their seemingly perfect new neighbors are government spies.
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