Box Office: ‘Shazam!’ on Top with $104M, ‘Curse of La Llorona’ Heads for $24.6M Opening

‘Shazam!’ which is still on top of the box office game is heading into its third weekend with $104M from the domestic market. According to a Deadline report, the superhero movie has crossed the $100M mark within 13 days after release. The DC Films’ flick has also earned $178M from the foreign box office, which makes the total haul $282M worldwide.

Warner Bros. and New Line’s horror film ‘The Curse of La Llorona‘ is heading for $24.6M opening. From the producers of ‘The Conjuring’ movies, ‘The Curse of La Llorona’ earned $2.75M in Thursday box office. Reports reveal that the Easter weekend’s overall ticket sales, which is estimated to be around $106M-108M, is the lowest since 2005. The trend may affect the weekend collection of ‘La Llorona.’ Fox’s ‘Breakthrough’ and Disneynature’s ‘Penguins’ hit the screens early as part of the Easter holiday weekend, which helped ‘La Llorona’ to be the sole weekend release. All three movies are racing with DC’s superhero vehicle ‘Shazam!’ The movie, whose chances are high in the Easter weekend, is expected to add another $10M to $12M during its third week in theaters. The critics’ reviews and the fan response are also favorable for ‘Shazam!‘ The buzz around ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is another boosting factor for the movie.

‘The Curse of La Llorona,’ the latest installment of Warner Bros. and New Line’s ‘Conjuring’ universe, earned $2.75M from Thursday preview showings. ‘La Llorona’s’ haul pushes the recent horror flicks ‘Pet Sematary‘ and ‘Escape Room’ to the second slot. ‘The Curse of La Llorona,’ is a standalone flick in the ‘Conjuring’ universe. It is expected to earn between $15M and $20M when expands to 3,400 screens. The movie is based on the Mexican folklore of the Weeping Woman. The grief over her lost children causes the Weeping Woman to prey on kids during nights. Though critics panned ‘La Llorona,’ die-hard fans of ‘Conjuring Universe’ stand for the movie. Easter weekend’s overall ticket sales may help ‘La Llorona’ to hit the $24.6M opening mark.

Disney and Fox’s faith-based drama ‘Breakthrough’ earned $11M in the first three days and a $14.5M after its Wednesday expansion into 2,824 screens. The movie has an estimated production cost of $14M. The makers can also rest their hopes on the home entertainment life of faith-based films. Moreover, ‘Breakthrough’ stands strong in the Mid-West and South. According to RelishMix, the social media momentum of the movie is ‘is exceptional.’ The positive word of mouth also pushes the movie into a faith-based Easter weekend. The movie is produced by DeVon Franklin and stars ‘This is Us’ actress Chrissy Metz. The plot is inspired by the true story of a mother who brought back her dead son with her prayers. The boy, who was declared dead after a fall through the ice, opened his eyes after nearly one hour. ‘Breakthrough’ is projected for an opening as high as $20M.

On the other hand, Disneynature’s ‘Penguins’ is lagging behind with $2.3M approximately over three days and $3.2M for the weekend. However, the movie has already earned positive word of mouth and considerable momentum on social media platforms. Though not much is expected from the nature docs at the box office, the goodwill may help the movie to move ahead.

Disney’s ‘Captain Marvel‘ aims at a $400M in the 45th day of release on Sunday. The movie is sailing on the waves of ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ which opens next week. Meanwhile, anti-abortion film ‘Unplanned’ has grossed an estimated $568K off 839 screens in its fourth weekend. Disney and Marvel’s ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is all set to hit the screens and smash box office records on April 26, 2019.

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