Gran Turismocan’t seem to take its foot off of the brakes. After its theatrical opening on August 11 was reportedly delayed because of the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strike, the videogame adaptation finally got the greenlight for this weekend. But director Neill Blomkamp’s film is off to a sluggish start at the weekend box office race.
During its Thursday previews,Gran Turismoonly managed to make $1.4 million domestically in the 3,156 theaters it opened in (perDeadline). Now, since the sports drama put a little distance between itself andBarbieby opening a full, two weekends later than expected, there’s obviously a sliver of hope thatGran Turismomight take the top spot at the weekend box office. But it’s going to be a tighter race than many expect.
Overseas,Gran Turismogot a head start on its domestic opening, and Blomkamp’s latest feature film has already amassed $22 million internationally. Back in the United States, the new movie has been popping up sporadically over the last two weeks in the way of advance screenings. According to the same report by Deadline,Gran Turismohas made $3 million off of those extra engagements, but Sony hasn’t confirmed those numbers.
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Gran Turismo is Off to a Slow Start
In order forGran Turismoto cross the finish line first during its opening weekend, it’s going to have to hopeBarbiefinally has a significant falloff. Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of the famous Mattel doll is entering its sixth weekend of release, but it’s still putting up incredible numbers. Plus, it’s still showing in over 4,000 theaters domestically.Gran Turismowill expand to 3,800 locations over the weekend.
During its fifth weekend of release,Blue Beetle($25 million) became the first movie to knockBarbie($21 million) out of the No. 1 spot at the box office. But unlessGran Turismocan outperform its projected $10 million to $15 million weekend,Barbiecould reclaim the top spot. Here’s how:
Barbieonly dropped 37.8% from $33.8 million in its fourth weekendto $21 million in its fifth. AssumingBarbiecan hold on in the neighborhood of that percentage, Gerwig’s blockbuster could take the checkered flag again. For example, say the bright-pink adaptation dips as low as 40% from last weekend’s domestic take. That meansBarbiecould come away with $12.6 million up againstGran Turismoover the weekend.
There’s just no room for error ifGran Turismowants to win the weekend. Director Neill Blomkamp needsBarbieto fall off significantly, likely in the 45% or higher range, from last weekend. The problem is that Barbie’s biggest drop came between its second and third weekends (43%).
Some might be bugging out becauseBlue Beetledoesn’t seem to have much of a say in the fight. The problem is that since director Ángel Manuel Soto’s superhero flick bestBarbieover the weekend, Gerwig’s film has outperformed it every day since, all week long. That doesn’t bode well forBlue Beetle, which could slip all the way to the No. 3 slot.
