Harrison Ford’s “The Call of the Wild,” the family adventure based on the classic Jack London novel, earned $1 million in box office previews on Thursday.
Ford stars in the film alongside a furry, but CGI, companion in the form of a dog named Buck. But though the film is the biggest new wide release of the weekend, it will likely fall short of another live-action and CGI hybrid family movie, “Sonic the Hedgehog,” heading strong into its second weekend. “The Call of the Wild” is also the first movie released under the new name 20th Century Studios, with Disney recently renaming the old Fox studio.
The studio is projecting an opening in the $15 million range for “The Call of the Wild.” Compare that to another adventure with a winter release, albeit with a real dog. “A Dog’s Way Home” from last January, debuted to $11.3 million after earning $535,000 in its previews. There’s also “A Dog’s Purpose,” which opened February 2017 and made $466,000 from Thursday night previews and ended up debuting to $18.2 million.
Set during the Gold Rush of the 1890s, “The Call of the Wild” is the story of a big-hearted dog named Buck that finds his domestic life turned upside down when he’s uprooted from his California home and transplanted in the exotic wilds of the Yukon. He becomes a rookie mail delivery dog on a sled team and eventually becomes its leader as he goes on a quest to become his own master. The film is directed by Chris Sanders and written by Michael Green, adapted from London’s book. Ford stars alongside Dan Stevens, Omar Sy, Karen Gillan and Bradley Whitford. It has a 65% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Also releasing wide is the STXfilms and Lakeshore Entertainment’s horror film “Brahms: The Boy II,” the sequel to the 2016 film “The Boy,” which grossed $64 million worldwide against a $10 million budget. “Brahms” made $375,000 on Thursday from 1,800 screens and is looking at an opening between $6-7 million, which would be slightly below the $10.7 million domestic opening for “The Boy.” It opens on approximately 2,151 locations starting Friday.
“Brahms: The Boy II” stars Katie Holmes as a mother whose family moves into the Heelshire Mansion, unaware of the bloody events that occurred there during the events of “The Boy.” Soon, her son befriends the diabolical doll named Brahms, dragging the family into a face-to-face confrontation with the mansion’s darkest secret. William Brent Bell directed the film from a screenplay by Stacey Menear based on Menear’s own characters. Christopher Convery, Owain Yeoman and Ralph Ineson co-star.