Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions’The Invisible Mangot off to a scary good start at the box office this weekend, pulling in an estimated $9.8 million on Friday. That puts it on track to pull in somewhere around $23 million for the weekend.
The film hails from co-writer/directorLeigh Whannell, who got his start co-creating theSawfranchise before making his directorial debut withInsidious: Chapter 3and 2018’s buzzy sci-fi picUpgrade. His take on the titular Universal monster puts a modern spin on the story, asElisabeth Mossplays a domestic abuse survivor who swears up and down that her supposedly dead husband is actually invisible and still tormenting her. It’s a tour-de-force from both Moss and Whannell, and incredibly good news for Universal who very publicly faltered with its Universal Monsters franchise just a couple of years ago.
Indeed, Universal originally intended to mimic the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a series of interconnected films based on the classic monsters.Tom Cruisewas The Mummy,Javier Bardemwas Frankenstein’s monster,Russell Crowewas Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, andJohnny Deppwas The Invisible Man. But those plans were scrapped entirely when the first installment, 2017’sThe Mummy,went bust at the box office and with critics despite a hefty investment. Bardem and Depp never actually got to play their characters onscreen.
Now, it appears,The Invisible Manpaves the way forward. Universal greenlit Whannel’s pitch without concern for an expanded universe or sequels. They merely heard a great idea for a movie, facilitated by the good folks at Blumhouse who specialize in low cost/high profit features. With a budget of just $7 million,The Invisible Manis already a success, and is estimated to pull in somewhere around $23 million for a weekend—just $8 million short of the opening forThe Mummy, which cost nearly $200 million to make.
Sony’sSonic the Hedgehogand Fox’sCall of the Wildare duking it out for second place, as the former pulled in $3.4 million on Friday and the “Harrison Fordand a CG dog are buddies” movie managed $3.3 million. And for all you anime fans out there (that means you, Dave Trumbore),My Hero Academia: Heroes Risingcracked the Top 5 with $1.8 million on Friday.
Check back tomorrow for full weekend results. See below for Friday’s Top 5.
Domestic Total
The Invisible Man
$9,800,000
Sonic the Hedgehog
$3,470,000
$115,763,652
The Call of the Wild
$3,371,000
$36,026,651
My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
$1,818,833
$5,192,034
Bad Boys for Life
$1,085,000
$194,153,385
