After a disappointing couple of weeks for Solo: A Star Wars Story, it’s good news at the box office this weekend for the two biggest new releases. Filmmaker Gary Ross’ spinoff Ocean’s 8 is starting strong with $15.8 million on Friday, targeting an opening weekend in the $41 million range. That would be a franchise best, with Ocean’s Twelve holding the previous opening weekend record with $39 million. In fact, Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy all performed pretty similarly at the box office, although Ocean’s Thirteen was the “lowest” with a $36 million debut.

The $41 million opening would easily best Solo to take the top spot at the box office this weekend, and it’s a strong showing for the A-list heist comedy. When comparing it to another female-led franchise entry like Ghostbusters, Ocean’s 8 is about on par—Ghostbusters opened to $46 million domestically, but of course that reboot carried a much heftier budget of $140 million. Ocean’s 8, meanwhile, was made for $70 million so this is certainly a win for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow. Moreover, the film scored B+ CinemaScore from audiences, so that bodes well for the weeks to come.

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Image via A24

On the flip side, while A24’s critically acclaimed horror film Hereditary is overperforming at the box office, the film earned a D+ CinemaScore. That’s not really a surprise, as Hereditary is absolutely not a film that makes you feel “good” at the end, so imagine a general audience member being asked to fill out a card about whether they liked the movie seconds after the lights came up, in the wake of that terrifying ending.

Filmmaker Ari Aster’s directorial debut grossed $5.2 million on Friday and is headed for a weekend in the range of $11 million to $13 million, which would mark the highest debut in history for A24. The excellent distributor’s previous record holder was another handsomely crafted horror film, The Witch.

The weekend’s third new release, however, isn’t faring as well. Hotel Artemis boasts a swell ensemble cast and a fun premise, but Iron Man 3 co-writer Drew Pearce’s feature directorial debut isn’t making much of a mark at the box office. The film earned only an estimated $1.1 million on Friday and could end the weekend with a mere $3 million, which is a tremendous disappointment for Global Road. It’s a shame, too, as by most accounts—including our own Matt Goldberg—the film is a fun pulpy thriller.

Check out the Friday estimates below, and come back tomorrow for the full weekend tally.

Rank

Title

Friday

Total

1.

Ocean’s 8

$15,800,000

$15,800,000

2.

Hereditary

$5,184,265

$5,184,265

3.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

$4,042,000

$164,993,474

4.

Deadpool 2

$3,765,000

$268,780,541

5.

Avengers: Infinity War

$1,819,000

$649,716,699

 

sofia-boutella-interview-hotel-artemis
Image via Global Road Entertainment
oceans-8-sandra-bullock-cate-blanchett
Image via Warner Bros.
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Image via Lucasfilm