It's been a long time coming, but Universal's Dark Universe finally gets underway this week with the eagerly awaited release of The Mummy, which stars Tom Cruise in the lead role and Sofia Boutella as the titular monster.
With the positive buzz surrounding Wonder Woman, box office pundits are projecting a modest $35-$40 million opening weekend for the Cruise-led vehicle, which, despite contrary belief, should be a more than solid start for the Dark Universe on a $125 million budget, especially considering a vast majority of ticket sales are expected to come in from overseas markets. Additionally, in the event of an underperformance, Forbes reports that the studio is financially healthy enough at the moment to withstand a lower-than-expected collection and could always choose to lower budgets on future installments, including Bride of Frankenstein and Invisible Man.
The current projected opening would place it in around the same ballpark as Warner Bros.' Edge of Tomorrow, which opened with $28.7 million on the same weekend back in 2014 before grossing over $100 million domestic, $370 million worldwide on a hefty $178 million budget. However, whether The Mummy can grow the same sort of legs this summer is yet-to-be-seen and will likely be determined on the first batch of reviews and reactions, which are expected to hit the interwebs either tomorrow night or Wednesday.
Universal has debuted nearly forty ultra hi-resolution stills, check them out below:
UPDATE: New poster and banner!
Tom Cruise headlines a spectacular, all-new cinematic version of the legend that has fascinated cultures all over the world since the dawn of civilization: The Mummy.
Thought safely entombed in a crypt deep beneath the unforgiving desert, an ancient queen (Sofia Boutella of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Star Trek Beyond) whose destiny was unjustly taken from her is awakened in our current day, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.
From the sweeping sands of the Middle East through hidden labyrinths under modern-day London, The Mummy brings a surprising intensity and balance of wonder and thrills in an imaginative new take that ushers in a new world of gods and monsters.
The Mummy features:
Director: Alex Kurtzman
Tom Cruise as Nick Morton
Sofia Boutella as Princess Ahmanet/The Mummy
Annabelle Wallis as Jenny Halsey
Jake Johnson as Sgt. Chris Vail
Courtney B. Vance as Colonel Greenway
Russell Crowe as Dr. Henry Jekyll/Mr. Hyde
Marwan Kenzari as Malik
Javier Botet as Set
Selva Rasalingam as King Menehptre
Dylan Smith as Lorenzo Montanari
Rez Kempton as Foreman
Chasty Ballesteros as Kira Lee
The Mummy awakens June 9