Sony’s horror pic The Grudge — the first new nationwide release of 2020 — scared up $1.8 million in Thursday previews.
The reboot will have to contend with a sleigh full of strong holdovers as the holiday season comes to an official close and schools and colleges reopen Monday morning.
J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker continues to lead the pack, as it prepares to jump the $900 mark at the global box office after finishing Thursday with $840 million in worldwide ticket sales (its domestic take for the day was $9.5 million).
Sony’s Jumanji: The Next Level and Little Women will also stay high up on the chart. They earned $6.8 million and $3.6 million on Thursday, respectively, for domestic totals of $209.8 million and $46.5 million.
Other popular holiday offerings are kids animated pic Spies in Disguise, Knives Out and Uncut Gems.
It remains to be seen where The Grudge, from Sony’s Screen Gems, lands. Tracking suggests the R-rated pic will open to $9 million or more, although its current Rotten Tomatoes score is a dismal 17 percent. It could easily overperform if it draws the younger crowd.
Produced by Sam Raimi — who has long been involved with the English-language version of the franchise — The Grudge is a reboot of the 2004 remake of the Japanese series. Andrea Riseborough, Demian Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye and Jacki Weaver star, with Nicolas Pesce directing.
