As we enter the last full weekend of summer, we can begin to look forward to all the smaller films that would have been lost amid the tumultuous blockbuster season. One of those films is Jennifer Lopez’s new stripper movie, Hustlers. Tracking is now in for the star-studded film, and these ladies may be taking home a whole lot more than a wad of singles come opening weekend.
Hustlers is projected to make a strong $24 million opening weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Given that the drama’s reported production cost may have only been around $20 million before marketing, it is believed that a debut in the mid-to high-teens would be a great start. Therefore, a potential $24 million opening weekend, as this tracking indicates, would we a major win and put Hustlers in a solid position to succeed right out the gate.
On the competition front, the weekend of September 13 is a mild one. Debuting opposite Hustlers is John Crowley’s The Goldfinch, which is tracking to make between $8-$10 million opening weekend. That doesn’t assure Hustlers first place at the box office though.
The week prior sees the release of the eagerly anticipated IT Chapter Two, which is tracking to have a massive opening weekend between $110-$150 million. So that horror film would have to have an abnormally precipitous drop to make less than $24 million in its second frame.
STX Entertainment could use a win after UglyDolls proved too unattractive for audiences and bombed at the box office this spring, earning only $27.5 million worldwide. Hustlers is poised to do much better than that and deliver a much needed victory for the indie studio.
Hustlers certainly doesn’t lack for star power to draw audiences in. In addition to Jennifer Lopez, the cast includes Crazy Rich Asians’ Constance Wu, Keke Palmer, Julia Stiles, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo and former stripper/current rapper Cardi B. The film is written and directed by The Meddler’s Loraine Scafaria, and is based on the New York Magazine true story “The Hustlers at Scores.”
This film follows a group of strippers who want more than the meager tips they get from their job. So they decide to rob from the rich, sleazy and seemingly untouchable Wall Street clients who have done them wrong.
Hustlers premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7 in advance of its wide release, so that’s when we should start to get a sense of how good the movie is and what kind of word of mouth it can hope for heading in to opening weekend.
There are still a few weeks to go for Hustlers to make its final marketing push, but if the tracking is on or near the mark, things are looking good for it to do much better than the last female-led crime film, The Kitchen, performed. I suspect the combination of star power, subject material and the more comedic elements make Hustlers a more compelling proposition for general audiences.
Hustlers dances into theaters on September 13. Check out our premiere guide to keep track of all the movies coming the rest of this year.
