Neon’s horror movie “Longlegs” is headed toward a better-than-expected domestic box office debut, while Apple’s big-budget romantic comedy “Fly Me to the Moon” is struggling to take off with moviegoers.
Powered by a clever marketing campaign, “Longlegs” is projected to gross more than $20 million in the U.S. and Canada from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates. That would top pre-opening expectations of around $15 million to $18 million for the film about an FBI agent pursuing an occultist serial killer.
The modestly budgeted movie is written and directed by Oz Perkins and stars Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage and Blair Underwood.
“Longlegs” is poised to become an original horror breakout hit, coming after several underwhelming performers from the typically reliable genre.
The film is expected to land at No. 2 domestically this weekend, coming in behind “Despicable Me 4,” which is anticipating a $44-million second weekend, bringing its U.S.-Canada total to $210 million.
Meanwhile, Sony Pictures is releasing Apple’s “Fly Me to the Moon,” a space age rom-com starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum. The movie is on track for an opening of about $10 million, a poor showing for a film that reportedly cost $100 million to produce.
The studios are hoping that the Greg Berlanti-directed throwback film has a longer shelf life than most Hollywood movies, on the theory that the movie’s older target demographic typically doesn’t rush out to the theaters on opening weekend.
Sony’s “Anyone But You” opened with soft numbers and ended up with a strong $88.3-million run in U.S. multiplexes, but that movie was working with much smaller production costs, so it had a lower bar for success.