Photo Credit: Mark Rogers/Universal Pictures

The release calendar has been littered with low-budget horror titles in the first two months of the year, with none enjoying particularly strong showings at the box office. But that all changed this weekend with The Invisible Man, which rode a wave of strong buzz and critical raves to a solid $29 million opening in 3,610 locations.

Enjoying a distinct advantage as the only wide opener this weekend, the Universal reboot benefitted from a strong marketing push that made it feel like the first event-sized horror film to debut this year. Importantly, critics gave the film high marks (it currently has a 90% “Fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes), while the PG-13 rating opened it up to a younger demographic and star Elisabeth Moss – best known to audiences for her roles in acclaimed TV series such as The Handmaid’s Tale and Mad Men – gave the film an air of respectability for more discerning moviegoers.

Interestingly, this weekend’s debut is closely in line with that of 2000’s Hollow Man, itself a modernized adaptation of the classic H.G. Wells novel and reboot of the famed Universal horror/sci-fi series, though that film – which opened to $26.41 million – was far less acclaimed and much more expensive, with a reported budget of $95 million vs. The Invisible Man’s reported $9 million price tag.

Finishing in second place was two-time champ Sonic the Hedgehog, which dipped 39% to an estimated $16 million in its third weekend of release. With a robust total of $128.29 million, the Paramount release is now the third highest-grossing video game adaptation to date (not adjusting for inflation) after 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, which finished its run with $131.6 million in North America.

Coming in third was The Call of the Wild, which brought in an estimated $13.2 million in its sophomore frame, a drop of 47% from its better-than-expected $24.79 million opening last weekend. The family adventure released by Disney/20th Century Studios has $45.9 million to date, though it has lots of ground to make up given its reported $100 million-plus budget.

Making a surprise showing in fourth place was FUNimation Entertainment’s My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, a superhero anime based on the popular manga series. Opening in 1,275 locations, the acclaimed title brought in an estimated $5.1 million in its North American debut, good for a per-screen average of $4K. Heroes Rising — which previously grossed over $15 million in Japan — is the second film adaptation of the Japanese comic after My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, which grossed a total of $5.75 million domestically in 2018. Since opening on Wednesday, Heroes Rising has brought in $8.5 million.

Fifth place this weekend went to Bad Boys for Life, which grossed an estimated $4.3 million in its seventh weekend of release. The Sony/Columbia hit now has $197.36 million in North America and will soon cross the $200 million mark.

Coming in at No. 6 was Warner Bros.’ Birds of Prey, which grossed an estimated $4.1 million in its fourth weekend for a total of $78.78 million to date.

After bringing in a healthy $2.6 million last weekend from just 357 locations, truTV and WarnerMedia’s Impractical Jokers: The Movie expanded to a wide 1,900 screens in its sophomore frame and brought in an estimated $3.54 million (for a per-screen average of $1,865) in seventh place. The comedy has $6.62 million to date.

Universal’s 1917 came in eighth with an estimated $2.67 million, bringing the total for the WWI drama to $155.87 million through the end of its tenth weekend of release. Closely behind that in ninth and tenth were horror holdovers Brahms: The Boy II and Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island, which took in an estimated $2.63 million and $2.33 million in their second and third weekends, respectively. The total for the STX sequel stands at a disappointing $9.77 million, while the Sony adaptation has $24.05 million in the bank.

Limited Release:

After enjoying a solid opening on just five screens last weekend, Focus Features’ Emma expanded to 97 screens and brought in an estimated $1.17 million, good for a per-theater average of just over $12K. That brings the cume for the acclaimed Jane Austen adaptation to $1.47 million.

Overseas Update:

Sonic the Hedgehog remained the No. 1 film overseas with an estimated $26.8 million in 62 markets, bringing its international tally to $137.2 million and its global total to $265.49 million.

The Invisible Man added to its strong domestic opening with an estimated $20.2 million in 47 overseas territories, with top markets including the U.K. and Ireland ($2.86 million), France ($2.19 million) and Mexico ($1.84 million). That brings its global debut to $49.2 million.

The Call of the Wild grossed an estimated $11 million internationally from 50 markets, giving it an overseas cume of $33.4 million and a global total of $79.3 million.

Sunday’s Studio Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, FEB. 28 – SUN, MAR. 1

WIDE (1000+) # TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST. 1 The Invisible Man $29,000,000 — 3,610 — $8,033 $29,000,000 1 Universal Pictures 2 Sonic The Hedgehog $16,000,000 -39% 4,177 -21 $3,831 $128,293,652 3 Paramount 3 The Call Of The Wild $13,205,000 -47% 3,865 113 $3,417 $45,860,651 2 20th Century Studios 4 My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising $5,070,000 — 1,275 — $3,976 $8,445,529 1 FUNimation Entertainment 5 Bad Boys For Life $4,300,000 -26% 2,708 -264 $1,588 $197,368,385 7 Sony / Columbia 6 Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) $4,100,000 -40% 3,124 -441 $1,312 $78,782,133 4 Warner Bros. 7 Impractical Jokers: The Movie $3,545,000 36% 1,900 1543 $1,866 $6,617,010 2 truTV 8 1917 $2,670,000 -37% 2,232 -493 $1,196 $155,867,069 10 Universal Pictures 9 Brahms: The Boy II $2,620,000 -55% 2,151 0 $1,218 $9,767,619 2 STX Entertainment 10 Fantasy Island $2,330,000 -45% 2,724 -60 $855 $24,059,653 3 Sony Pictures 11 Jumanji: The Next Level $2,105,000 -27% 1,811 -315 $1,162 $313,710,910 12 Sony Pictures 12 Parasite $1,506,000 -50% 1,324 -479 $1,137 $51,553,015 21 NEON 13 The Metropolitan Opera: Agrippina $1,150,000 — 1,000 — $1,150 $1,150,000 1 Fathom Events 14 The Gentlemen $1,070,000 -13% 1,473 340 $726 $35,146,470 6 STX Entertainment 15 The Photograph $1,060,000 -62% 1,449 -1067 $732 $19,637,755 3 Universal Pictures 16 Dolittle $1,000,000 -46% 1,477 -788 $677 $76,000,055 7 Universal

LIMITED (100 — 999) # TITLE WEEKEND LOCATIONS AVG. TOTAL WKS. DIST. 1 Portrait of a Lady on Fire $730,000 5% 268 138 $2,724 $2,453,288 13 NEON 2 Knives Out $630,000 -41% 670 -279 $940 $164,655,243 14 Lionsgate 3 Las Píldoras De Mi Novio $615,000 -56% 350 0 $1,757 $2,352,426 2 Lionsgate / Pantelion Films 4 Little Women $380,000 -47% 432 -201 $880 $107,610,146 10 Sony Pictures 5 Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker $333,000 -41% 393 -165 $847 $514,658,888 11 Disney 6 Frozen II $313,000 -37% 344 -80 $910 $477,017,707 15 Disney 7 The Lodge $256,000 -59% 395 73 $648 $1,440,498 4 Neon 8 Jojo Rabbit $255,000 -44% 307 -78 $831 $33,118,539 20 Fox Searchlight 9 Spies in Disguise $231,000 17% 245 -18 $943 $66,443,870 10 20th Century Fox 10 Seberg $207,534 340% 373 370 $556 $260,500 2 Amazon Studios 11 Downhill $175,000 -88% 677 -1634 $258 $8,128,760 3 Fox Searchlight 12 Just Mercy $171,000 -35% 300 -123 $570 $35,733,144 10 Warner Bros. 13 The Assistant $105,090 -51% 155 -12 $678 $994,113 5 Bleecker Street 14 Ford v. Ferrari $100,000 -42% 153 -61 $654 $117,510,091 16 20th Century Fox 15 The Turning $72,000 -43% 136 -179 $529 $15,455,555 6 Universal Pictures 16 Bombshell $55,000 -16% 113 33 $487 $31,723,954 12 Lionsgate