‘Death on the Nile’ Takes Top Box Office Spot With Just $12.8 Million Opening
thewrap.comWhile that result is consistent with the $11-13 million projections for the Agatha Christie adaptation from Kenneth Branagh, they are also less than half of the $28.6 million opening earned in 2018 by its predecessor, “Murder on the Orient Express.” Tracking was so low for the murder mystery because “Orient Express” had an opening weekend audience that was heavily skewed towards audiences over the age of 50; an age demographic that has shown up far less often since the pandemic began, not to mention the usual slowdown in theater turnout that comes on Super Bowl weekend.
Reception for “Nile” has been somewhat positive with a 66% Rotten Tomatoes score and a B on CinemaScore. But with a reported $90 million production budget, its core demographic staying home and blockbusters like “Uncharted” coming to appeal to younger audiences, the film is looking like it will join the likes of “The Last Duel” and “West Side Story” among the recent 20th Century flops unless it finds a way to leg out in overseas territories.
Also opening this weekend is the Universal romantic comedy “Marry Me” starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson and holding a $23 million production budget.
Released both in theaters and for paid subscribers on Peacock, the film opened to $8 million from 3,642 theaters along with $8.5 million overseas.
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