‘Him’ Leads Opening Day, ‘Big Bold Beautiful Journey’ Bombing

Universal’s “Him” debuted in second place on Friday at the domestic box office, just a bit behind last weekend’s anime smash “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle.” Meanwhile, Sony’s cosmic romance “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” is proving a theatrical bust with a debut outside the top five.

“Him” skimmed $6.47 million on its opening day (including $2 million from preview screenings) from 3,168 locations in North America. The movie is also sharing Imax and other premium large format auditoriums with “Demon Slayer,” which means a boost from higher ticket prices. The Faustian football fable, directed by Justin Tipping and produced by Jordan Peele’s banner Monkeypaw Productions, is now projecting a $15 million opening weekend. That’d be behind initial projections for a debut north of $18 million, plus it’d likely put the R-rated horror original in second place behind “Demon Slayer.” Still, it’s not a nonstarter given the film’s relatively modest $27 million production budget.

More troubling is how rough the buzz around “Him” is and how that could impact its theatrical prospects moving forward. The movie was roundly rejected by critics and general audiences aren’t any warmer, with moviegoer survey firm Cinema Score polling a bad C- grade among early viewers. Horror tends to be a more divisive genre, but this kind of response hardly portends strong staying power. “Him” will also face some genre competition next weekend when Lionsgate’s “The Strangers – Chapter 2” opens.

With a release timed to the starting weeks of the NFL season, “Him” follows a rising pro quarterback (Tyriq Withers) who weighs selling his soul for GOAT status, tempted by his mentor (Marlon Wayans).

Much further down the charts, Sony’s “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey” meandered to $1.4 million across Friday and preview screenings from 3,330 locations. The R-rated original fantasy,…