Poor word-of-mouth is killing M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap at the box office while Deadpool & Wolverine breaks records.
A somewhat less ferocious than expected box office battle is being fought this weekend between Marvel’s juggernaut, Deadpool & Wolverine and M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap. While no one expected the PG-13 Josh Hartnett thriller to really pose any kind of threat to Marvel’s box office behemoth in its second weekend, the movie – which has been poorly reviewed (including by us) seems certain to open below industry expectations (but exactly according to ours). In fact, Deadline is forecasting that the film will be easily beaten by Twisters in its third weekend.
As per the early box office estimates, Deadpool & Wolverine is looking at a second weekend in the $94 million range (although it could rally and cross $100 million), while Twisters should make about $22 million, which is a terrific hold for this well-performing sequel to the 1996 classic. Trap looks to be a distant third with only about $15 million, although if word-of-mouth is really bad, it could go lower. The dire C+ CinemaScore won’t do it any favours, with this looking like a repeat of Ishana Shyamalan’s The Watchers, which bombed earlier this summer. Indeed, the movie is a total mess, although it should be noted that Josh Hartnett delivers a terrific performance in the lead. It’s a shame that the rest of the movie isn’t up to the high standard set by his performance.
Another new addition to the chart, Harold and the Purple Crayon, starring Zachary Levi, is crashing and burning. It is set for a sixth-place finish with only about $6 million. With families busy with Twisters/ Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2, this seems like a poorly timed release for a family flick.
Have any of our readers checked out Trap this weekend? Is it as bad as we’ve been saying? Make sure to let us know in the comments – we want to hear what you think!