Weekend Box Office: Tyler Perry's 'Boo 2' Scares Up $760K in Thursday Previews

Gerard Butler's disaster epic 'Geostorm' and Michael Fassbender's thriller 'The Snowman' are also among the weekend's new offerings.

Boo 2! A Madea Halloween scared up $760,000 in Thursday-night previews at 2,000 locations.

Tyler Perry again directs and stars in the Lionsgate sequel to the 2016 comedy-horror. This time out, Madea, Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis), Viv (Chandra Currelley) and Hattie (Patrice Lovely) take a vacation to a campground with their family members, unaware that the grounds are haunted by monsters, goblins and boogeymen. The follow-up is opening in 2,300 theaters this weekend and is predicted to earn over $20 million in its debut.

Boo 2's Thursday-night numbers fall just under those of the original, which earned $855,000 when it debuted last year. It went on to win its opening weekend box office (grossing $28.5 million) and altogether earn $74 million in its worldwide theatrical run.

Only the Brave fired up $350,000 in Thursday-night previews. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, Sony and Black Label Media’s real-life drama introduces the Granite Mountain Hotshots, the heroic team of Arizona firefighters who fought the deadliest wildfire in history, resulting in the death of 19 crewmembers. Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, James Badge Dale, Taylor Kitsch and Jennifer Connelly star in the film. Opening in 2,575 theaters, the film is predicted to debut in the $7 million range, but there's room for upside.

Universal and Working Title’s thriller The Snowman earned $270,000 in Thursday-night previews at 1,550 theaters. Based on the Jo Nesbo's bestselling novel, the movie stars Michael Fassbender as a determined detective on the trail of a serial killer. Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer and J.K. Simmons are also featured in the Tomas Alfredson film. It is opening in 1,813 theaters, and is expected to open on par with Geostorm’s $10 million-$12 million range.

This weekend's widest release is Warner Bros. and Skydance Media's big-budget Geostorm, opening in over 3,000 theaters and tracking to open in the $10 million-$12 million range, a dismal start for a film that cost at least $120 million to produce. In the long-delayed film, the world's climate change control system — a series of satellites designed to prevent natural disasters and keep the human population safe — goes haywire, threatening a global geostorm. Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Andy Garcia and Zazie Beetz star in the movie, which marks Independence Day producer Dean Devlin's feature directorial debut.

Also opening in 1,362 theaters this weekend is Pure Flix’s drama Same Kind of Different as Me. Based on a true story, the faith-based film centers on an art dealer who befriends a homeless man to save his marriage to his wife, a woman whose dreams lead all three of them on an invaluable journey. Greg Kinnear, Renée Zellweger, Djimon Hounsou and Jon Voight star in the Michael Carney title, which is expected to open in the $4 million range. Paramount, which made the film adaptation of the book of the same name, was originally set to open Same Kind of Different as Me in April 2016, but later dropped the film, with Pure Flix picking up the rights.