Box-Office Preview: 'A Quiet Place,' 'Blockers' to Battle 'Ready Player One'

Movies


Ted Kennedy scandal pic ‘Chappaquiddick’ and inspirational movie ‘The Miracle Season’ also open nationwide.

After a troubled run at the box office, Paramount could make a comeback with A Quiet Place, a high-concept horror-thriller directed by John Krasinski.

In addition to directing duties, Krasinski also stars in the Michael Bay-produced film opposite Emily Blunt (his real-life wife), Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe. According to tracking, A Quiet Place should open in the $20 million-$25 million range, possibly enough to unseat Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, which heads into its sophomore weekend.

A Quiet Place — sporting a near-perfect 99 percent Rotten Tomatoes score — follows a family of four who must remain silent in order to ward off mysterious creatures that hunt by sound. The movie cost a modest $17 million to produce before marketing.

Krasinski’s movie opens opposite several other films, including the latest R-rated comedy from Universal, Blockers.

Helmed by screenwriter Kay Cannon in her feature directorial debut, Blockers is a raunchy, coming-of-age tale about a group of teenagers determined to lose their virginity on prom night. The big hitch: their parents learn of their plan.

Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz and John Cena star alongside Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Indira Viswanathan and Gideon Adlon.

Blockers, with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 88 percent, could hit $20 million in its debut, a strong showing considering the recent R-rated comedy slump.

Both Blockers and A Quiet Place staged their world premieres at the SXSW festival, as did Spielberg’s Ready Player One, which debuted domestically last weekend to $41.8 million.

The two other films opening nationwide this weekend — Ted Kennedy scandal pic Chappaquiddick and The Miracle Season — are headed for far more modest openings.

Director John Curran’s Chappaquiddick, recounting the 1969 car accident that forever damaged Kennedy’s presidential aspirations, is tracking to open to a troubled $2 million-$4 million. Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios paid $4 million for U.S. rights to the indie film following the 2017 Toronto Film Festival, plus a $16 marketing commitment.

Chappaquiddick stars Jason Clarke as Kennedy and Kate Mara as Mary Jo Koechne, the young political aide who was left to drown after Kennedy drove his car off a tiny bridge.

The film’s Rotten Tomatoes score is currently 79 percent.

The Miracle Season, directed by Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer), tells the inspirational story of a Midwestern volleyball squad dealing with the death of their team leader. Helen Hunt, William Hurt, Erin Moriarty and Danika Yarosh star.

The film’s distributor, Mirror/LD, hasn’t yet screened the movie for critics. Miracle Season is tracking to open to $3 million.

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