“The Invisible Man,” Universal and Blumhouse’s horror movie starring Elisabeth Moss as a woman evading torture from an unseen assailant, crept to $1.65 million from 2,850 screens in box office previews on Thursday. It opens on 3,610 screens this weekend.
Leigh Whannell directs the film that’s an updated take on the classic Universal monster movie by framing it in a #MeToo world of domestic abuse and violence. It has received good reviews for the most part and has a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Universal is projecting a $20 million start for the movie against a slim $7 million budget, but independent trackers say it’s likely looking at a $24-27 million opening, and strong word of mouth could push it to above $30 million.
“Get Out,” another critically acclaimed, original horror movie from Universal and Blumhouse,” made $1.8 million in its Thursday previews and grossed $33.3 million in its opening weekend. Another comparison is “Happy Death Day” from October 2017, which made $1 million in previews and debuted to $26 million.
“The Invisible Man” stars Moss as a woman who inherits an enormous fortune after running away from her abusive scientist boyfriend, who reportedly committed suicide. But she soon discovers that not only is he not dead, but he has found a way to become invisible. Now she must find a way to fight off an unseen enemy even as he tries to destroy her life piece by piece. Whannell wrote and directed the film, which also stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman, Aldis Hodge and Storm Reid.