{"id":4693,"date":"2025-11-15T17:03:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T17:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/now-you-see-me-3-box-office\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T17:03:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T17:03:24","slug":"now-you-see-me-3-box-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/now-you-see-me-3-box-office\/","title":{"rendered":"Now You See Me 3 Tops Box Office With $21M\u2013$24M Opening Ahead of Running Man"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<h2>Lead<\/h2>\n<p>Lionsgate\u2019s Now You See Me: Now You Don\u2019t opened as the weekend leader in the pre-Thanksgiving frame with an estimated $21 million\u2013$24 million start, outpacing Paramount\u2019s Edgar Wright reboot The Running Man. Early Friday tallies for Now You See Me 3 showed roughly $7.5M\u2013$8.4M (reports varied, with $2.1M in Thursday previews), and the threequel is playing widely in roughly 3,400 theaters. The film\u2019s PG-13 rating and strong social reach helped drive a younger, female-skewing turnout, while Running Man, R-rated, leaned male and trailed in preview momentum.<\/p>\n<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Now You See Me 3 is estimated to open between $21M and $24M in the U.S., with Thursday\/Friday previews around $2.1M and Friday figures reported between $7.5M and $8.4M.<\/li>\n<li>Now You See Me 3 is playing in about 3,403 theaters and reported a B+ CinemaScore; Rotten Tomatoes shows 60% critics \/ 83% audience for the threequel.<\/li>\n<li>Running Man is playing in roughly 3,534 theaters, with Thursday previews near $1.9M and Friday around $5.5M estimates; it also earned a B+ CinemaScore but skews 64% male at the box office.<\/li>\n<li>Predator: Badlands sits in third with a weakening second weekend; Friday for Badlands was about $3.5M and weekend estimates point to a $13M\u2013$14M frame and a running total near $67M.<\/li>\n<li>Lionsgate is leveraging the Now You See Me brand globally (including an early China cume near $16M and a planned magic stage show in Sydney), and the film\u2019s social reach across platforms is reported near 300 million followers.<\/li>\n<li>Audience composition differs sharply: Now You See Me 3 is 54% female, 66% ages 18\u201334, while Running Man is 64% male with 46% over 35, affecting each title\u2019s box-office profile.<\/li>\n<li>Premium large formats (PLFs) account for roughly 20% of Now You See Me 3\u2019s business; for Running Man, IMAX and PLFs supply about 46% of early receipts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Background<\/h2>\n<p>The Now You See Me franchise returns after a nine-year gap since the previous sequel, tapping nostalgia and a returned ensemble led by Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson. Lionsgate has positioned the threequel as broad, PG-13 mass entertainment aimed at date nights and younger audiences, a strategy that differs from Paramount\u2019s R-rated Running Man remake starring Glen Powell and directed by Edgar Wright. Historically, the original Now You See Me films relied heavily on international box office; the first film and its sequel both earned substantial overseas totals, and the studio expects similar patterns, especially after the series\u2019 stronger early performance in markets like China.<\/p>\n<p>Running Man revives a 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger property in a modern action-reboot style and carries an adult rating that narrows its family appeal but targets older and male-skewing demographics. The 1987 original opened in the same mid-November window and finished with a $38.1M domestic run; Paramount\u2019s new version launched with moderate preview numbers and varied tracking between mid-teens to low-twenties weekend projections. Meanwhile, 20th Century Studios\u2019 Predator: Badlands continues to run as a legacy horror\/action franchise entry and is weathering steeper-than-expected declines in week two.<\/p>\n<h2>Main Event<\/h2>\n<p>Box-office tracking shifted in favor of Now You See Me 3 late in the week, turning an expected high-teens start into a $21M\u2013$24M projection. Early Friday reports ranged from $7.5M (updated midday, which included $2.1M in previews) to $8.4M in other tallies; such intra-day adjustments reflect differing weekend models and source inputs. The film played evenly nationwide with pronounced strength in the South, South Central and Mountain regions, and marquee locations such as AMC Empire in New York showed strong openings approaching $30K from Thursday night runs.<\/p>\n<p>Running Man posted solid but cooler preview business (about $1.9M) and a Friday near $5.5M in some estimates, putting it in contention for the runner-up slot. Its R rating and older-skewing audience profile constrained family turnout; theater-level leaders like AMC Lincoln Square reported top grosses for the title with nearly $39K in early grosses. Premium formats are a significant revenue driver for the redeveloped sci-fi actioner, contributing nearly half of its early box-office haul.<\/p>\n<p>Predator: Badlands is experiencing a sharper second-week drop than many had anticipated, with a second Friday reported at about $3.5M (a steep decline) and a weekend in the $13M\u2013$14M range on roughly 3,725 locations. The title\u2019s running cume sits near $67M on the high end, indicating that word-of-mouth has not stabilized momentum as hoped. Other holdovers in the top five include Paramount\u2019s Regretting You, which is in its fourth weekend and approaching a mid-$40M running total.<\/p>\n<h2>Analysis &#038; Implications<\/h2>\n<p>Now You See Me 3\u2019s outsize debut relative to recent tracking underlines how franchise gaps can revive interest: absence from theaters for nearly a decade raised audience curiosity and amplified nostalgia-driven intent. Lionsgate\u2019s broad marketing push, plus cross-platform social reach (reported near 300 million across TikTok, YouTube, X, Instagram and Facebook), elevated awareness above what trackers predicted weeks earlier. The studio\u2019s ancillary play\u2014launching a stage magic show at the Sydney Opera House then touring globally\u2014signals a broader IP monetization approach beyond theatrical receipts.<\/p>\n<p>Running Man\u2019s performance highlights the trade-offs of rating and audience targeting. The R rating restricts family attendance and hands a comparative advantage to PG-13 competitors in the pre-holiday window; it also means the film must lean heavily on core adult and action audiences and premium-format revenue to meet higher production and P&#038;A thresholds. Edgar Wright\u2019s creative stamp and Glen Powell\u2019s star turn generate critical and audience interest, but the title\u2019s preview totals suggest a slower start than some mid-week projections anticipated.<\/p>\n<p>Predator: Badlands\u2019 steeper-than-expected decline suggests genre fatigue or mixed reception among core horror-action buyers. Even for franchise entries with strong global awareness, sustaining second-weekend legs requires positive word-of-mouth and cross-demographic appeal\u2014factors that appear limited so far. For distributors, the cluster of mid-November releases reinforces a marathon approach: Thanksgiving remains two weeks away, and titles that can hold or rebuild momentum through holiday windows will outperform those that peak and precipitously fall.<\/p>\n<h2>Comparison &#038; Data<\/h2>\n<figure>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Title<\/th>\n<th>Theaters<\/th>\n<th>Thursday\/Friday Previews<\/th>\n<th>Friday<\/th>\n<th>Estimated Weekend<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Now You See Me: Now You Don\u2019t<\/td>\n<td>3,403<\/td>\n<td>$2.1M (Thu)<\/td>\n<td>$7.5M\u2013$8.4M<\/td>\n<td>$21M\u2013$24M<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>The Running Man (2025)<\/td>\n<td>3,534<\/td>\n<td>$1.9M (Thu)<\/td>\n<td>~$5.5M (est)<\/td>\n<td>~$16M\u2013$18M (varies by tracker)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Predator: Badlands<\/td>\n<td>3,725<\/td>\n<td>\u2014<\/td>\n<td>$3.5M (2nd Fri)<\/td>\n<td>$13M\u2013$14M (2nd weekend)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The table shows the scale and early momentum differences among the three top titles. Now You See Me 3\u2019s combination of wide play, a PG-13 rating, and PLF support (about 20% of its intake) created a stronger opening profile than trackers had assumed. Running Man\u2019s premium-format skew (IMAX\/PLFs making up ~46% of its till) partially offsets lower mass turnout, while Predator\u2019s decline emphasizes the importance of sustained audience recommendation for genre titles.<\/p>\n<h2>Reactions &#038; Quotes<\/h2>\n<p>Industry trackers and market observers gave context to the surprise lift for Lionsgate.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Nostalgia is clearly translating into ticket intent\u2014the franchise has resurfaced as a comfort-food spectacle for many viewers,&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><cite>RelishMix (industry analytics)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>RelishMix\u2019s sentiment summary captures the fan chatter that elevated late-week intent, noting social posts about the ensemble reunion and the title pun as shareable catalysts for interest.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Premium screens are an outsized revenue driver for Running Man, helping compensate for its narrower rating-driven audience,&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><cite>Exhibitor analytics (industry source)<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Exhibitor-level data underlines how IMAX\/PLF demand can materially influence a mid-budget blockbuster\u2019s early returns, particularly for titles that skew older and male.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;The threequel\u2019s China early intake near $16M suggests stronger overseas appetite this weekend compared with prior franchise installments,&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><cite>Distribution market report<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>International early cume is important for Lionsgate because previous franchise entries leaned heavily on foreign revenue; early China figures support a healthier global trajectory than initial domestic-only tracking implied.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<details>\n<summary>Explainer: PLFs, Previews and Why Ratings Matter<\/summary>\n<p>PLFs (premium large format screens) include large-format auditoriums that are not branded IMAX but offer enhanced audio-visual presentations and higher ticket prices. Previews\u2014Thursday night or limited early shows\u2014are used as indicators of core fan enthusiasm and can foreshadow weekend performance, but they don&#8217;t always scale to full-weekend legs. Rating (PG-13 vs. R) materially affects household decisions: PG-13 titles can attract family and younger audience segments, broadening potential market, while R-rated films rely more on older, individual ticket buyers and premium-seat demand.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/aside>\n<h2>Unconfirmed<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Exact Friday gross for Now You See Me 3: early reporting ranged between $7.5M and $8.4M; final studio weekend grosses may revise these intraday estimates.<\/li>\n<li>Some weekend tracker projections for Running Man vary; a few models still place its three-day return in the high teens, but others estimate a low-mid teens finish.<\/li>\n<li>China\u2019s early cume for Now You See Me 3 is reported close to $16M; this figure is an early snapshot and could be adjusted as more territory reports finalize grosses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Bottom Line<\/h2>\n<p>Now You See Me 3\u2019s stronger-than-expected opening demonstrates the continued commercial value of mid-budget franchise content when paired with effective marketing and cross-platform reach. Lionsgate\u2019s strategy\u2014leaning into nostalgia, maximizing younger audience turnout, and monetizing the IP beyond film\u2014helped the title claim the top slot in a crowded pre-holiday weekend.<\/p>\n<p>For Running Man, the challenge will be converting early premium-format strength into endurance across the Thanksgiving corridor; an older, male-skewing audience can sustain a film, but only if word-of-mouth and repeat play are solid. Predator: Badlands faces the longest uphill climb, needing steadier audience advocacy to moderate its steep second-week drop.<\/p>\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2025\/11\/box-office-now-you-see-me-3-running-man-predator-badlands-1236617534\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deadline<\/a> \u2014 Industry trade reporting and box-office roundup (primary)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> \u2014 Review aggregator for critic\/audience scores<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cinemascore.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CinemaScore<\/a> \u2014 Audience polling and grade reporting (research)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.boxofficemojo.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Box Office Mojo<\/a> \u2014 Box-office database for historical comparisons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lead Lionsgate\u2019s Now You See Me: Now You Don\u2019t opened as the weekend leader in the pre-Thanksgiving frame with an estimated $21 million\u2013$24 million start, outpacing Paramount\u2019s Edgar Wright reboot The Running Man. Early Friday tallies for Now You See Me 3 showed roughly $7.5M\u2013$8.4M (reports varied, with $2.1M in Thursday previews), and the threequel &#8230; <a title=\"Now You See Me 3 Tops Box Office With $21M\u2013$24M Opening Ahead of Running Man\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/now-you-see-me-3-box-office\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Now You See Me 3 Tops Box Office With $21M\u2013$24M Opening Ahead of Running Man\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"Now You See Me 3 Tops Box Office \u2014 MovieBrief","rank_math_description":"Lionsgate\u2019s Now You See Me 3 leads the pre-Thanksgiving weekend with an estimated $21M\u2013$24M opening, outpacing Running Man as premium formats and social reach shape early results.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"now you see me 3,box office,running man,lionsgate","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4693\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}