‘The Equalizer 3” began its domestic box office sprint with $3.8 million. That’s well above the $1.4 million Thursday preview gross of “The Equalizer” in 2014 and just above the $3.1 million earned by “The Equalizer 2” in 2018.
Inflation and earlier preview showtimes notwithstanding, that’s a strong sign that this third installment of the franchise, which stars Denzel Washington as former special ops agent Robert McCall who periodically goes vigilante defending the defenseless, will open on par with the $34-$36 million earned by its predecessors over their respective opening weekends. Sony is hoping for $40 million over the four-day Labor Day holiday, and they just might get it.