The new stripper-based film Hustlers starring Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu is on pace for a solid debut at the box office, but it won’t quite score the No. 1 spot. It opened with a record-breaking debut for its main star and the film studio but still fell to the terrifying dancing clown Pennywise.
According to Hollywood Reporter, Hustlers is on pace for approximately $32 million or more after opening to 3,250 theaters in the United States. That’s a record for the studio and also Jennifer Lopez. It gives JLo the best live-action opening for a film in her career history.
The new comedy and crime thriller is based on a true story of a group of strippers who turn the tables on Wall Street in a heist to rake in more money. A 2015 New York magazine story gave insight into the strippers’ plans and where they went wrong. In addition to Jennifer Lopez, it also stars Constance Wu, Cardi B, Keke Palmer, Lizzo, and Julia Stiles, among others. In addition to being JLo’s best opening, it’s also the best opening for any STXfilms studio.
Despite that solid performance, the box office projections from Box Office Mojo indicate that IT: Chapter Two is on pace for another No. 1 weekend. That will make the second-straight for the sequel to the 2017 film based on Stephen King’s horror film. The movie is expected to take in over $40 million to continue its impressive run ahead of Halloween. The R-rated movie has earned $158 million so far domestically.
While those two films performed well, the debuting movie The Goldfinch did not. The movie took in just $870,000 from the 2,542 theaters on its debut. It’s on track to get just $2.6 million for the weekend at the box office. It’s considered one of the worst stars every for a film playing in over 2,500 theaters. Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, and Sarah Paulson are amongst the film’s starring cast members.
The Hollywood Reporter indicates that CinemaScore gave a slightly better overall score to Goldfinch with a “B” while Hustlers earned a “B-.” The Rotten Tomatoes critic scores give Hustlers an 88 percent aggregate score compared to a 25 percent for The Goldfinch. JLo’s new movie is also getting early buzz for awards season, so it will be interesting to see what it takes in during its run at theaters.
