Deadline reports that after a $12.6 million Friday, Bullet Train is now on track to earn somewhere around $30 million at the North American box office this weekend. It could come in slightly lower (perhaps between $27 million - $29 million), especially with a B+ CinemaScore that suggests moviegoers are as on the fence about this one as critics.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the Brad Pitt starrer has a "Rotten" 54% score. The Critics Consensus on the site reads, "Bullet Train's colorful cast and high-speed action are almost enough to keep things going after the story runs out of track."
However, with an all-star cast and well-received trailers, why isn't Bullet Train pulling out of the station with a bigger box office haul? The trade believes it's down to that quirky, over-the-top tone, while it's never easy to convince moviegoers to check out an original action flick like this one.
On the plus side, the movie has gone straight to #1, dethroning DC League of Super-Pets ($10.9 million) after that animated adventure enjoyed just one week at the top. Nope is in third place with $8.05 million, while Thor: Love and Thunder has slipped to fourth with $7.46 million, taking its domestic haul to an estimated $315.8 million after five weeks of release.
We're in something of a quiet spell for the box office, so Bullet Train has the next few weeks to tally up a decent enough haul. It needs to as well because while it may not be based on an existing IP (Kōtarō Isaka's novel, Maria Beetle, was used as a basis), the movie cost a reported $90 million to produce!
If you'd like a recap of Bullet Train's post-credits scene, you can find that here. We also recently compiled the blink-and-you'd-miss-them cameos from a number of Hollywood A-Listers, so find those here.
What did you watch on the big screen this weekend?