“Sinister 2” topped “American Ultra” and “Hitman: Agent 47” at the Thursday night box office with $850,000.
“Hitman,” a video game adaptation starring Rupert Friend as the eponymous assassin, grossed $600,000, while Jesse Eisenberg and Kristin Stewart stoner comedy “American Ultra” pulled in $425,000.
Still, “Straight Outta Compton” is expected to reign over the box office throne for a second weekend in a row, as analysts are projecting another $30 million to add to its $80.2 million domestic haul since opening.
The N.W.A biopic directed by F. Gary Gray debuted last weekend to $60.2 million after a $30 million projection.
Focus Features’ “Sinister 2,” the horror film starring Shannyn Sossamon, Robert Daniel Sloan and Datanian Sloan, is tracking to rake in between $15 and $18 million this weekend at 2,100 locations. Directed by Ciaran Foy, produced by Jason Blum and Scott Derrickson, and executive produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, the film is about a mother who moves into a haunted house with her two twin sons.
Blumhouse Productions reunited the creative team behind the original “Sinister” for the R-rated sequel. The micro-budget film opened to $18 million in October 2012 and took in $48 million domestically. Reviews for the sequel have not been kind. “Sinister 2” currently has a mere 6 percent approval ratings from critics counted on Rotten Tomatoes. The film’s production budget was under $10 million.
“Hitman: Agent 47” has also been obliterated by critics, although it stands slightly higher on Rotten Tomatoes with a nine percent approval rating. The video game adaptation grossed $600,000 from 2,500 locations. Thomas Kretschmann, Jurgen Prochnow, Zachary Quinto and Hannah Ware co-star with Friend as an assassin who helps a woman track down her father and uncover mysterious roots of her ancestry.
It’s another shot at the franchise for 20th Century Fox, which first recruited Timothy Olyphant to play the titular character in 2007’s “Hitman,” which opened to $13.1 million and took in $39.7 million domestically and $100 million worldwide.
Previously tracking for under $20 million, the latest “Hitman” movie is directed by Aleksander Bach and executive produced by Daniel Alter, Michael Hendrickson and Marco Mehlitz.
Lionsgate’s “American Ultra” follows a stoner (Eisenberg) who discovers he’s a sleeper government agent, and targeted for extermination once his training kicks in. The action comedy written by Max Landis (“Chronicle”) and directed by Nima Nourizadeh (“Project X”) is expected to pull in $10 million in 2,758 theaters this weekend, despite having a better — albeit, not great — Rotten Tomatoes rating. So far, 38 percent of critics recommended it.