“Entourage” the movie got off to a surprisingly strong start at the box office Tuesday night, taking in a sizzling $2 million from early showings.
Whether that means that Warner Bros.’ big-screen version of HBO’s hit TV show will outstrip analysts’ projections for the weekend — which are for a soft $12-$15 million for the five days — remains to be seen, but it’s a great way to begin.
Writer-director Doug Ellin’s “Entourage” faces stiff competition this weekend despite getting a two-day head start. In addition to the current No. 1 film, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s earthquake epic “San Andreas,” Friday will bring strong newcomers in Fox’s Melissa McCarthy comedy “Spy” and the Jason Blum-produced horror film “Insidious: Chapter 3.”
Ticket sales at Fandango, where “Entourage” was the No. 1 seller on Wednesday morning, offered another positive sign the R-rated comedy may top expectations. But this weekend’s competition, the fact that it’s been four years since the show was on TV and the difficulty many recent inside Hollywood films have had connecting in the Heartland, suggest otherwise.
Adrian Grenier returns as Vincent Chase, the show’s movie star who gets to direct in the big screen version, and Jeremy Piven is also back as Ari Gold, the super agent who turns studio chief. Kevin Connolly, Jerry Ferrara and Kevin Dillon from the series co-star, and Billy Bob Thornton and Haley Joel Osment join the cast.
There are, as was the case with the TV series, cameos by the boatload in the movie, including NFL stars Clay Matthews, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Tom Brady, Mark Cuban, Liam Neeson, Jessica Alba and even Warren Buffett.
“Entourage” will be in 3,058 theaters on Wednesday, and 3,108 by Friday.