Weekend Box Office Results: Lionsgate’s ‘Now You See Me 3’ With $21M+ Opening Makes ‘Running Man’ Disappear From No. 1

There’s plenty of surprise out there for Lionsgate’s No. 1 win with threequel Now You See: Now You Don’t at M. Global take is .5M, with over M from offshore. China is contributing .2M. We always told you this movie would make magic abroad.

There was clearly more goodwill out there for this IP than say for a revival of an Arnold Schwarzenegger 1980s sci-fi movie, that is clear as Paramount’s Glen Powell starring, Edgar Wright directed Running Man falls behind on its $20M+ tracking to $17M, maybe even less by tomorrow morning with NFL today. But Running Man‘s stumbling goes beyond IP.

This movie arrived on tracking in the $20M range, and wouldn’t budge up further. Incoming Paramount marketing boss Josh Goldstine, I’m told, tried to change up some thematic elements in the trailer from the initial ridiculousness of the whole world-pursuing Powell’s Ben Richards in the first trailer. Advance ticket sales on Tuesday took a downturn once reviews hit (though they’re better than Now You See Me 3, 64% fresh to 59% Rotten). Critics spoke about the social satire in Running Man, and that I’m told, is what turned the non-core fans off.

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