8:44 AM PDT 10/12/2019 by
Courtesy of MGM Pictures, Warner Bros. and Paramount
'The Addams Family,' 'Joker,' 'Gemini Man'
Elsewhere, 'Parasite' is on course to score the best location average at the specialty box office in three years.
Todd Phillips' Joker continues to laugh hard at the box office, where it's headed for a huge second weekend of $60 million, well ahead of expectations.
The Warner Bros. origin pic, starring Joaquin Phoenix, grossed $17 million on Friday for a domestic total of $154.7 million. It could drop only 37 percent in its sophomore outing, an impressive stat.
Joker is easily staying atop the chart, although MGM and United Releasing's The Addams Family is on course for a strong second-place finish with $32 million, also ahead of expectations. It earned $9.7 million on Friday.
Addams Family, co-financed by Bron, features a star-studded voice cast led by Oscar Isaac and Charlize Theron, along with Chloe Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll and Bette Midler.
The big disappointment of the weekend is Ang Lee's big-budget Gemini Man, starring Will Smith as an elite assassination who faces off with a younger version of himself. Lee used groundbreaking technology to make the action-thriller, which cost roughly $140 million to make after rebates.
The VFX-heavy Gemini Man grossed $7.5 million on Friday for a projected opening of $19 million-$20 million (it had hoped for at least $30 million). The big question now is whether it can be rescued by the foreign box office. Reviewers have skewered the pic.
The VFX-heavy Gemini Man follows Henry Brogan (Smith), an elite assassin who becomes the target of a mysterious operative who can seemingly predict his every move. To his horror, he soon learns that the man who's trying to kill him is a younger clone of himself.
Both Gemini Man, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and Addams Family earned a B+ CinemaScore.
Jexi, the final theatrical release from CBS Films, is also opening nationwide this weekend via Lionsgate. It's pacing for a $3 million debut.
South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho's acclaimed Parasite is igniting the specialty box office, where it's on course to post a location average of $119,000 — the best since La La Land three years ago. The Neon release boasts a rare 99 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
