20th Century Studios’ “Free Guy” provided a box office surprise this weekend, earning a stronger-than-expected $28.4 million opening from 4,165 locations and topping the $26.2 million opening earned last weekend by Warner Bros./DC’s “The Suicide Squad”While analysts had not ruled out an opening above $20 million for the Ryan Reynolds comedy, a start in the $15-19 million range was expected to be the more likely outcome.
Instead, “Free Guy” has gotten a boost from strong word of mouth, with critics giving it an 82% Rotten Tomatoes score while audiences gave it a sterling A on CinemaScore and a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score.And while the film’s PG-13 rating probably also helped it to beat out the R-Rated “The Suicide Squad,” theater owners will surely point to the fact that “Free Guy,” unlike all of Warner Bros.
and Disney’s other releases this year, was not given a day-and-date release on streaming, premium or not.
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