Pantelion/Lionsgate’s How to be a Latin Lover beat STX/EuropaCorp’s The Circle in Thursday night previews, $450K to $430K.
Neither film is expected to unseat Universal’s reigning No. 1 box office champ The Fate of the Furious which is looking to rake in $24M-$25M in its third weekend for a running cume that will be close to $200M by Sunday.
How to Be a Latin Lover played in 925 theaters last night and expands to 1,118 locations today. Pantelion handled Eugenio Derbez previous 2013 comedy stateside, Instructions Not Included, minting $7.8M at 348 theaters for a notable $22K per theater. Latin Lover is expected to make between $7M-$8M, but could likely overperform.
STX/Europa
Directed by James Ponsoldt and starring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson, The Circle is expected to make $11M-$12M at 3,163 locations according to industry tracking. The movie premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday night. The Circle raked in 46% in its Thursday than Tom Hanks’ previous thriller, October’s Inferno which made $800K and opened to $5.6M in its first Friday and made $14.8M over three days.
The Fate of the Furious led all films yesterday with $1.95M at 4,329 locations taking its two tally to $173.3M. Given how Easter fell two years ago, Furious 7 was able to have a four-weekend run at No. 1, a feat no other Fast and Furious ever accomplished. With the first weekend of summer in close proximity to Easter, Fate of the Furious will only have a three-weekend run at No. 1.