After more than five decades of being appreciated as a classic of children's literature, and 15 years after a TV movie version failed to impress, A Wrinkle in Time has finally received the big screen treatment, with director Ava DuVernay's adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's book now playing in theaters. As Disney's second movie of 2018, following several weeks after the powerhouse that is Marvel's Black Panther, AWrinkle of Time has earned mixed reception, but it was unclear how the movie would perform commercially. Well, the movie got off to a decent start last night, making $1.3 million in Thursday previews.
With A Wrinkle in Time's opening weekend competition including smaller fare like Gringo, Thoroughbreds and The Strangers: Prey at Night, it's not shocking that it was the top performer last night. The big question now how A Wrinkle in Time will perform in the days to come. According to Deadline, A Wrinkle in Time is projected to end Friday somewhere between $12 million and $14 million. As for its overall opening weekend haul, A Wrinkle in Time's total is expected to be between $44 million and $45 million.
Assuming A Wrinkle in Time can hit these projections over the next couple days, while it won't go down as one of Disney's best spring performers, it also won't be considered a disappointment on the commercial side of things. However, given the success of Black Panther and many of the studio's other movies over the last year, even if A Wrinkle in Time doesn't meet financial expectations, it won't be a major loss for the studio.
Despite looking it like A Wrinkle in Time will do okay at the box office, reviews for the movie haven't been as kind, as it currently ranks at 42% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while Metacritic has it scored at 53. That being said, as we've seen many times over the years (I'm looking at you, Suicide Squad and the Transformers series), just because a movie doesn't have a great critical reception doesn't mean it can't rake in a sizable amount of money. Plus, A Wrinkle in Time has already made a name for itself due to the fact that by being hired to direct it, Ava DuVernay is the first woman of color to helm a live action movie with a budget exceeding $100 million.
Like the original novel, A Wrinkle in Time follows the young Meg Murry as she journeys across space with her brother, Charles, and new friend, Calvin, to save her father, and along the way, the trio are aided by Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who. The main cast includes Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, Levi Miller, Deric McCabe, Zach Galifianakis and Michael Peña.
You can find out what we thought of A Wrinkle in Time by reading our review. If you're interesting in planning your trips to the movie theater later this year, head to our 2018 release schedule.
