Box Office: ‘Haunted Mansion’ Makes $3.1 Million in Previews, but ‘Barbenheimer’ Stays Strong

“Barbenheimer” fever shows no signs of slowing down. The combined forces of Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer” are setting up another huge weekend at the box office, but Disney’s new release “The Haunted Mansion” will have to settle for third place.

The kid-friendly horror film made $3.1 million in Thursday previews at the box office. “Barbie,” meanwhile, made $21.2 million on Thursday alone, bringing its domestic total after its first week to $258 million; “Oppenheimer” made $10 million on Thursday and has a $127 million first-week total.

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Directed by Justin Simien, who made “Dear White People” and the horror comedy “Bad Hair,” “The Haunted Mansion” is the latest movie inspired by a Disneyland theme park ride (which range from successes like the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise and “Jungle Cruise” to the more forgettable “Tomorrowland” with George Clooney).

“The Haunted Mansion” is expected to make $25 million to $30 million in its opening weekend, but it carries an oversized price tag of $150 million before marketing. That may come to haunt its path to profitability at the box office.

Coming 20 years after Eddie Murphy’s “Haunted Mansion,” the new film features a scary good cast with LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Jared Leto and more. After a mother and her son move into the titular haunted mansion, they unsurprisingly encounter a variety of ghosts, ghouls and ghastly creatures. To exterminate the evil entities, they enlist the help of a paranormal tour guide (Stanfield), a priest (Wilson), a psychic (Haddish) and a college historian (DeVito).

The real winners this weekend will be “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” which are both projected to make huge second weekends. Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s ultra-pink comedy is expected to repeat as No. 1 with between $65 million and $85 million, after it earned the highest opening weekend of the year last week. Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy’s atomic bomb drama should gain $35 million to $45 million. This weekend’s other new release, the A24 horror “Talk to Me,” is looking to scare up $4 million to $5 million in its debut.

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