Yahoo Movies Box Office: ‘Abigail’ Bites Into $1 Million in Previews
Spring has been filled with scares, like Sydney Sweeney’s “Immaculate,” the “Omen” prequel “First Omen” and the talk-show thriller “Late Night With the Devil” in recent weeks. Now the vampiric “Abigail,” from the directors of the last two “Scream” movies, is sinking its teeth into the box office with $1 million in previews so far.
“Abigail” is expected to make between $12 million to $15 million in its opening weekend, edging out last week’s champion, A24’s “Civil War.” Universal’s R-rated horror only cost $28 million, so as long as the first weekend hits the higher end of estimates, it should have no issues making a profit by the end of its theatrical run.
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Starring a young vampire ballerina, who is the daughter of one Count Dracula, “Abigail” follows a group of criminals who get way in over the heads after kidnapping the girl. Their $50 million heist goes south when they realize they’re now trapped with a dancing, blood-sucking monster. The cast includes “Scream” actor Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Will Catlett, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, the late Angus Cloud, Giancarlo Esposito, Matthew Goode and Alisha Weir as Abigail.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, also known as the film collective Radio Silence who made the thriller hit “Ready or Not” and rebooted the “Scream” franchise, directed “Abigail” from a script by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick that reimagined the 1936 horror “Dracula’s Daughter.”
“Abigail” is tipped to open slightly higher than “Civil War,” which is projected to make between $10 million and $12 million in its second weekend. This week’s other new releases, Guy Ritchie’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” ($1.45 million in previews) and the anime “Spy x Family Code: White” ($670,000 in previews) are targeting $5 million to $6 million in their debuts.
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