‘Deadpool’ Beats ‘Reagan,’ ‘AfrAId’ Opening Days

The summer always gets colder by the end. Even in its sixth weekend, Disney’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” is landing the top slot on domestic charts once again as theaters take in an assortment of low-performing new releases, including Dennis Quaid’s presidential biopic “Reagan” and the Blumhouse horror feature “Afraid.”

The Marvel Studios production earned another $3.6 million on Friday, down about 26% from its daily total a week ago. Apart from a one-weekend ceding of No. 1 to the opening frame of “Alien: Romulus,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” has been dominating for over a month now. Its domestic haul should reach $600 million within the next few days — a milestone that only 15 other releases have ever notched.

The superhero team-up feature comes in ahead of “Afraid,” released by Sony to 3,003 locations. The sci-fi thriller, which follows John Cho and Katherine Waterston as a married couple whose AI-assisted household begins to attack their family, earned $1.3 million across its opening day and previews. These aren’t breakout numbers for the Chris Weitz-directed feature, but Blumhouse employed its typically lean economic model to turn this PG-13 feature around on a $12 million production budget. So even with an opening as quiet as this one, “Afraid” doesn’t face a staggering uphill battle. Reviews are bad and audiences are cold too (a C+ grade from research firm Cinema Score), but hey, that’s a run-of-the-mill horror release for you.

“Afraid” is at least faring better than most of the weekend’s other nationwide releases, none of which exactly seemed like top priorities for critics to review as the fall film festival season kicks off. Lionsgate’s “1992,” a Tyrese Gibson vehicle that follows a shop owner staying afloat during the L.A. riots, took in an estimated $460,000 on its opening day from 875 locations. Audiences are into it with an A- Cinema Score grade and reviews lean positive.

Meanwhile, Roadside’s “City of Dreams,” a human trafficking drama that has attached executive producers ranging from Martin Sheen to Vivek Ramaswamy, has grossed roughly $290,000 from 774 locations. And that number is buoyed from a large fraction of ticket sales coming from the filmmakers and John Devaney, founder of United Capital and Manor House Films, who gave away $1 million in free admissions to draw attention to the issues-based drama.

Also, Bleecker Street’s “Slingshot,” a space thriller starring Laurence Fishburne and Casey Affleck, is even quieter with an estimated $250,000 million from 845 locations. The feature, directed by Mikael Håfström, has landed mediocre reviews.

And then there’s “Reagan,” the inaugural theatrical release from Showbiz Direct. After debuting a first look at the annual exhibitor gathering Cinema Con in 2022, the biopic paused promotions before being taken on by the new banner. Dennis Quaid stars as the actor-turned-president, who exercised his fervent anti-communism through his time as SAG head during the blacklist era and all the way to the Oval Office. The biopic tore down $2.6 million across Friday and preview screenings from 2,754 locations; it will hope to reach eight-digits through the holiday weekend. Sean McNamara (“Soul Surfer,” “Bratz”) directed the $25 million production. Reviews have been negative, but, as with most partisan-slanted messaging in the U.S., its target audience has received it warmly (an A grade on Cinema Score, natch).

Even with five new releases in theaters, the lion’s share of box office top slots will go to holdovers. Disney’s “Alien: Romulus” looks to repeat in second place after earning $2.2 million on Friday. After two weeks of release, 20th Century Studio’s sci-fi sequel has now surpassed $80 million domestic and $150 million internationally, boosted by an unexpected but impressive performance in China.

Sony’s “It Ends With Us” seems headed to third place, projecting $9.5 million for the four-day weekend ($7.3 for the three-day frame). The Blake Lively drama has now surpassed $125 million in North America. In the coming weeks, it’ll make a go at surpassing “A Quiet Place: Day One” ($138 million) to become the 10th-highest grossing domestic release of the year.