Box Office: ‘A Haunting in Venice’ Gondolas to $5.5 Million Opening Day, ‘Nun II’ Contends for No. 1
variety.comJ. Kim Murphy Hercule Poirot is back on the case this weekend, with Kenneth Branagh’s “A Haunting in Venice” hoping to best a very quiet box office in its opening.
The horror-tinged whodunnit scored$5.5 million from 3,305 theaters on its opening day, a figure that includes $1.2 million in Thursday previews.
The film gets a boost from increased ticket prices for premium large formats like Imax. “Haunting” is pacing a bit ahead of last year’s “Death on the Nile,” which opened to $12.8 million on Super Bowl weekend after some prolonged shuffles around Disney and 20th Century Studios’ schedule due to the COVID pandemic. “A Haunting in Venice,” the third Agatha Christie adaptation from Branagh, arrives with less of a financial burden — the production budget of $60 million is a notable drop from its predecessor’s $90 million.
There’s a less starry cast, a more intimate setting and Branagh went digital for this one after shooting on large format 65mm for the previous two entries.
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