Weekend Box Office: 'Split' Scaring Off 'Rings'; 'Space Between Us' Scrubbed

Elsewhere, Robert DeNiro's 'The Comedian' finds few laughs at the Super Bowl weekend box office; Oscar frontrunner 'La La Land' nears $270 million globally.

M. Night Shyamalan's Split is now expected to edge out threequel Rings and win the horror showdown at the Super Bowl weekend box office.

Rings, reviving the franchise after a long absence from the big screen, topped the Friday chart with an $5.6 million from 2,931 theaters for a projected $13 million weekend.

On Saturday, Split is expected to pull ahead of Rings and post weekend earnings of $14 million or more as it nears the $100 million mark domestically for Universal and Blumhouse. Split, enjoying strong staying power, has won the box-office race the past two weekends.

From Paramount, Rings revives the horror series that began in 2002 with The Ring, directed by Gore Verbinski, and was a remake of the 1998 Japanese horror film Ring (which in turn was based on a book by Koji Suzuki centering on a reporter who investigates a cursed videotape that kills its viewers after one week). The Ring earned $249.3 million at the global box office in 2002, followed by The Ring Two with $162 million in 2005.

The new film, helmed by F. Javier Gutierrez, stars Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Vincent D'Onofrio, Aimee Teegarden and Bonnie Morgan. Costing $25 million to make, it is also opening in 36 international markets this weekend.

Elsewhere, STX Entertainment's space romance The Space Between Us is bombing in its debut, earning $1.4 million Friday from 2,812 theaters for a projected $3.5 million weekend.

Space Between Us, starring Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson and Gary Oldman, it follows a boy who lives on a different planet for his whole life but builds a friendship online with a person on Earth. When he’s 16 he has the chance to go to Earth but soon discovers he can’t survive on the planet.

Back in the top five, Fox 2000 and Chernin Entertainment's Hidden Figures has a strong shot of claiming the No. 3 spot with $10.5 million or more following its top win at the SAG Awards. A Dog's Purpose and Oscar frontrunner La La Land are expected to round out the top five with $10 million and $7 million-$8 million, respectively.

Globally, La La Land will finish the weekend with nearly $270 million in global ticket sales.

At the specialty box office, Robert DeNiro and Leslie Mann-starrer The Comedian is falling flat for Sony Pictures Classics. Directed by Taylor Hackford, the movie is projected to gross $1.1 million from 838 theaters for the weekend. Danny DeVito, Edie Falco, Veronica Ferres, Charles Grodin, Chloris Leachman, Patti LuPone and Harvey Keitel also star.

Feb. 3, 12:30 p.m. Updated with revised weekend estimates.

Feb. 4, 7:30 a.m. Updated with Friday numbers and revised weekend estimates.