‘Blink Twice,’ ‘The Crow’ Ending Summer on Quiet Note

The summer box office is winding down, as Amazon MGM’s social thriller “Blink Twice” and Lionsgate’s action remake “The Crow” both look to open beneath a trio of holdovers.

“Blink Twice” wins the race between new releases though, with a $2.8 million gross across Friday and preview screenings from 3,067 locations. It’s not exactly a big splash for the Zoë Kravitz-directed thriller, which stars Naomi Ackie and Channing Tatum and follows a woman who visits a tech billionaire’s private island and uncovers an insidious conspiracy. But the MGM production carries a light $20 million production budget — it’s off to a solid enough start if it can keep momentum. Reviews have been positive, though audience survey firm Cinema Score turned in a B- grade (standard middling for a horror film).

Meanwhile, “The Crow” will have to put up a fight to make the top five after making $2 million across Friday and previews from 2,752 locations. The new R-rated adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel is shaping up to be Lionsgate’s second consecutive misfire in August, following the abysmal performance of its video game adaptation “Borderlands.”

As with many of its releases, Lionsgate has financially shielded itself here; the studio is only on the hook for distribution costs after acquiring U.S. rights for about $10 million. But at a $50 million production budget, it’s clear that “The Crow” isn’t living up to expectations. Buzz hasn’t been great for the Rupert Sanders-directed feature since it first dropped a trailer and some roundly negative reviews and a Cinema Score grade of B- don’t hint that that sentiment can fully turn around after opening weekend.

Meanwhile, “Alien: Romulus” is tracking behind “Deadpool & Wolverine” on domestic charts. Disney’s sci-fi sequel earned $4.6 million on Friday and is eyeing a drop of around 61% in its sophomore outing. “Romulus” will stretch ahead of a $75 million domestic sum after its second weekend — a solid result considering its $80 million production budget and strong ticket sales overseas.

Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” continues to hold strong in its fifth weekend of release, adding $4.9 million on Friday — down only 39% from its $8.1 million daily sum last week. The superhero adventure is now beyond $560 million in North America and has now surpassed “Minions” ($1.159 billion worldwide) to become the 27th-highest-grossing feature of all time. How much higher can it go in its final weeks?

Sony’s “It Ends With Us” is eyeing third place, projecting a $11.8 million gross in its third weekend of release. The Blake Lively drama has put up an exceptional performance against its $25 million production budget. It will soon be solidly ahead of “IF” ($111 million) and “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” ($113 million) to rank as the 11th-highest-grossing North American release of the year.

Also opening this weekend, Affirm Films’ “The Forge” took in $2.4 million from 1,818 locations across Friday and previews. It’s a very quiet start for the release from Sony’s Christian-focused distribution banner, but the production budget has been reported to be slim and a Cinema Score grade of A+ means it will surely get some fervent recommendations.