The summer movie season may be starting to wind down, but it looks like a trio of middle-schooler Good Boys are right on time to school at this weekend’s box office. The R-rated comedy about the hilarious antics of 12-year-olds as they make their way to a “kissing party” had a strong start on Thursday preview screenings starting at 7pm, earning $2.1 million ahead of its weekend debut.
Good Boys is now heading into an expected $11-12 million opening weekend after its previews in 2600 theaters, per Deadline. The comedy had an expected production budget of $20 million, so this is a great start for the new release. Good Boys also stacks up nicely next to other R-rated comedy releases in recent years. The movie is tracking above 2018’s Blockers, which earned $1.5 million during its Thursday night previews, Tag’s $1.3 million and Game Night’s $1 million.
Good Boys may surprise since Blockers went on to gross $20 million during its debut weekend, Tag nabbed $14 million and Game Night scored $17 million. The movie also has been blessed with great reviews from critics, as it currently has a 79% fresh score among critics and 91% among early audiences. CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg gave Good Boys 4 out of 5 stars, calling it “consistently funny.”
The raunchy comedy is opening next to a slew of new releases including 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, Where’d You Go Bernadette, Angry Birds Movie 2 and critical darling Blinded By the Light. Angry Birds had a headstart with a Wednesday release and is expected to score with $16-$17 million Friday to Sunday earnings, behind Hobbs & Shaw, which will likely continue at No. 1 for the third weekend in a row.
Good Boys will likely best 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, which is said to open at $9.5 million after the shark-infested sequel made $516k on Thursday night. Where’d You Go Bernadette and Blinded By the Light will fight for the 10th position since The Lion King, Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Art of Racing in the Rain are still very much in play for the top 10 this weekend.
Good Boys is the second Superbad-type R-rated comedy to come out in 2019, since Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, Booksmart, also had a premise of the misadventures of misfit friends trying to navigate the popular party space. Booksmart starred two hard-working female teens making the most of their final night as high school students, while Good Boys has middle-school boys using foul-mouths and coming across very adult content (such as sex toys and porn) on their way to a spin-the-bottle party they’re nervous about attending.
Check out Good Boys is in theaters now!
