August is a notoriously difficult month for movies. Summer vacation is at its end, and kids from first grade to college have to head back to school. It can be tough for movies to get a turnout so late in the month, but it looks like Don't Breathe is the horror film that's going to beat the odds. It's being reported that the suspenseful horror film about a group of teens hiding from a murderous blind man (it's better than it sounds) did pretty well at the box office Thursday night, bringing in $1.875 million.
Admittedly, that doesn't sound like a large number at all considering the high totals films usually rack in, but as Deadline notes, Don't Breathe's numbers are actually very good for the horror genre - especially in late August. Multiple sources are saying that the film is tracking to bring in $20 million this weekend. If it were to reach those goals, it would be the number one movie of the weekend and dethrone Suicide Squad, which has held the spot for three weeks now. On the chance that Don't Breathe is unable to clear $20 million, then Suicide Squad will become the first film of the year to be number one for four weekends in a row.
Don't Breathe is also looking at some pretty good Fandango numbers. The film is reportedly out clicking similar horror films from the summer such as Lights Out and The Visit. It even managed to squeak past Light's Out's opening night numbers ($1.8 million). In addition to these figures, Don't Breathe is being pretty well received by critics. As it stands now the film has an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This makes it one of the top rated movies to premiere this weekend, right behind the Obama meet cute movie Southside With You.
Aside from Suicide Squad, the horror flick's other main competition comes from a fellow newcomer, Mechanic: Resurrection. The sequel starring Jason Statham and Jessica Alba premiered Thursday night to $390K on 1,800 screens, and is expected to bring in $7-9 million at the box office. If Don't Breathe does as well as its projecting, then it should have no trouble clearing Mechanic: Resurrection by the end of the weekend.
Don't Breathe is directed by Fede Alvarez and will be in theaters this weekend, so if you want to start looking at blind and criminals people slightly more suspiciously, then head down to your local theater to check it out.
