Blue Beetle arrives in theaters this weekend, and the movie kicked-off its box office run by taking in a so-so $3.3 million from Thursday preview screenings in North America.
This puts Jaime Reyes' first big-screen outing on track for an estimated $25M-$30M opening.
This wouldn't usually be considered an impressive debut for a superhero movie, but may not be disastrous for this one, which had a relatively modest budget (at least when compared to The Flash) of $120 million. That said, Shazam! Fury of the Gods had a reported budget of $90M-$100M, and the recent sequel topped Beetle's preview totals (hopefully not an indicator of what we can expect for BB).
Blue Beetle should still take the No. 1 spot from Barbie this weekend (which is holding strong after 5 weeks in theaters), but it remains to be seen how it fares over the next few weeks. Positive reviews should help (it's now "certified fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes at 80% with a 95% audience score), and good word-of-mouth could certainly propel the DC Comics film past expectations.
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"Recent college grad Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena) returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it," reads the synopsis. "As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab."
"When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armour capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero Blue Beetle."
The cast also includes Bruna Marquezine, Belissa Escobedo, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, Damián Alcázar, and Raoul Max Trujillo.
Blue Beetle is set to be released in theaters on August 18, 2023.