Box Office: ‘Expendables 3’ Takes In $875K Thursday Night

Lionsgate’s The Expendables 3 debuted with a decent $875,000 at the box office Thursday night, from over 2,200 locations. It will expand Friday to 3,221 theaters.

The previous installments grossed roughly around the same range, with 2010’s Expendables making $870,000 and the second opening with $685,000; both consisted of midnight shows only. In 2012, Expendables 2 had an opening weekend of $28.6 million and went on to gross about $85 million.

“When you hit three-quel status, unless you’re adding something new to the ballgame, the formula looks too similar and people get tired,” said Jeff Bock, an analyst with Exhibitor Relations.

The Expendables 3 reunites key cast members Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture. Additional cast members include Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson, Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Kelsey Grammer, Terry Crews, Glen Powell, Victor Ortiz and Robert Davi.

Below is the film’s official synopsis:

In THE EXPENDABLES 3, Barney (Stallone), Christmas (Statham) and the rest of the team come face-to-face with Conrad Stonebanks (Gibson), who years ago co-founded The Expendables with Barney. Stonebanks subsequently became a ruthless arms trader and someone who Barney was forced to kill… or so he thought. Stonebanks, who eluded death once before, now is making it his mission to end The Expendables — but Barney has other plans. Barney decides that he has to fight old blood with new blood, and brings in a new era of Expendables team members, recruiting individuals who are younger, faster and more tech-savvy. The latest mission becomes a clash of classic old-school style versus high-tech expertise in the Expendables’ most personal battle yet. Lionsgate and Millennium Films present a Nu Image production.

Expendables 3 is expected to pull in between $23 million to $25 million, which is less than what the first ($34.8 million) and the second installment ($28.6 million) debuted with.

The action comedy Let’s Be Cops, about two friends who fake being Los Angeles police officers, opened strongly with $5.2 million on Wednesday, and received a B CinemaScore. The 20^th Century Fox film, starring Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson, is expected to gross between $26 million and $28 million after its five-day debut.

The Giver, starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep and Brenton Thwaites, is expected to debut this weekend to roughly $15 million in 3,003 locations. The film, costing a mere $20 million to produce, is based on Lois Lowry’s 1993 Newbery-winning novel.

As for The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the live action reboot is likely to reign for another week, with analysts predicting the film will make at least an additional $30 million in its second weekend.