The decks have been reshuffled at the box office as moviegoers are favoring Columbia and Annapurna’s R-rated animated comedy “Sausage Party” more than prognosticators initially expected.
Featuring Seth Rogen as the voice of a grocery store weiner dog, the film is expected to come in higher than $30 million by the end of its debut weekend, easily making it the highest grossing debut ever for an R-rated animated movie. It will dwarf previous record holder “Team America,” which opened to only $12.1 million in 2004.
The comedy, also featuring the voices of Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek and Nick Kroll, is set to end its opening weekend with $10 million more than what the high end of estimates reflected earlier in the week.
“Sausage Party,” which brought in $13.5 million from Friday screenings held in 3,103 locations, is also on track to beat “Planes,” which opened at $22 million, to become the highest August opening for an animated film.
Its current Rotten Tomatoes score is a strong 82 percent, though its CinemaScore is only a B, gaging fan anticipation among those surveyed.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. tentpole film “Suicide Squad” is set to win the weekend with $45 million, downgraded by roughly $5 million compared to estimates from earlier in the week.
The comic book movie starring Margot Robbie and Will Smith made $13.3 million from 4,255 locations on Friday.
Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon” is also getting downgraded and is expected to come in with little more than $21 million, down from earlier predictions of more than $25 million. The movie, featuring Bryce Dallas Howard and relative newcomer Oakes Fegley, made $7 million during Friday screenings held at 3,702 locations.
The live-action remake of the 1977 film has an 86 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and a solid A rating on CinemaScore.
Paramount’s warmly reviewed Meryl Streep dramedy “Florence Foster Jenkins” made $2 million from 1,528 screens on Friday and is expected to end its opening weekend with $6 million. Directed by Stephen Frears, its current Rotten Tomatoes score is 88 percent, and its CinemaScore is A-.