Smile 2's Big Night Out: Early Numbers Look Promising

Last night, Paramount's "Smile 2" kicked off its theater run with a bang, making $2.5 million from previews. This is a nice jump from the original "Smile" movie's $2 million preview figure in 2022. The first "Smile" went on to earn $22.6 million on its opening weekend and eventually brought in a total of $105.9 million. So, there's definitely some reason for Paramount to feel good about this sequel's potential. Early reviews and audience reactions are looking positive. "Smile 2" has an impressive 85% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and audience members gave it 3.5 stars and a 71% positive rating. Latino and Hispanic moviegoers made up a significant chunk of the audience, at 36%, with Caucasians at 40%, Black moviegoers at 11%, and Asian Americans at 7%. Today, the movie opens on 3,619 screens. The sequel was directed by Parker Finn, who also helmed the first film. The budget for "Smile 2" is $28 million. The story follows Naomi Scott, who plays a popstar who encounters some very creepy, grinning people while on tour. Comparing "Smile 2" to other horror movies, its preview earnings are on par with Blumhouse/Universal’s "The First Purge," which made $2.5 million in its Tuesday preview back in 2018. "The First Purge" went on to make $17.3 million in its three-day opening and $31.2 million over five days. Meanwhile, the horror film "Terrifier 3" made $1.5 million yesterday, which is a 16% drop from its previous day. The movie has made $26.9 million in its first week. Another movie to watch out for is A24's "We Live in Time," which is expanding to 955 theaters this weekend. The romance drama has a 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and has made $820,000 so far. It's showing a lot of promise at the box office. Finally, "Goodrich," a dramedy starring Michael Keaton and Mila Kunis, also had previews last night. Early audience reactions were very positive, with 5 stars and a 93% positive rating. Men made up 61% of the audience, while women made up 39%, and 65% of the audience was over 35. Critics are also happy with the movie, giving it a 68% fresh score.

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