Box Office Preview: Melissa McCarthy’s ‘Spy’ To Dominate

Melissa McCarthy’s newest comedy Spy, directed by Bridesmaids and The Heat’s Paul Feig, is on track to dominate the box office charts with a $35 million debut at 3,711 locations, according to studio analysts.

The film, which stars Rose Byrne, Jude Law and Jason Statham, already has rave reviews, gathering a stellar 95 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Spy stars McCarthy as an unassuming, desk bound CIA analyst who volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent diabolical global disaster.

Warner Bros.’ Dwayne Johnson-starring earthquake disaster film, San Andreas, is expected to gross $28 million to $29 million in its second weekend, making it likely to cross the $100 million mark by Sunday.

The weekend’s other newcomer Insidious: Chapter 3 is on track to debut between $21 million and $24 million, battling against San Andreas for second place. Produced by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions along with Oren Peli and James Wan, the horror flick will scare audiences in over 3,002 locations.

Insidious 3 marks the directorial debut of Insidious screenwriter Leigh Whannell and stars Dermot Mulroney, Stefanie Scott, Angus Sampson, Whannell and Lin Shaye. Set as a prequel before the haunting of the Lambert family, the thriller reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier (Shaye) reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl (Scott) who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity.

The first Insidious debuted to $13.2 million in 2011, and finished with a domestic total of $54 million, while 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2 launched with $40.2 million and ended with $83 million.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ adaptation of the HBO comedy Entourage, which grossed another $4 million on Friday, is estimated to finish the weekend with roughly $20 million. The film, starring Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Jeremy Piven, Jerry Ferrara and Kevin Dillon, earned an A- CinemaScore.