Box Office: ‘Now You See Me 3’ Sprinting to Surprise $21M-$24M Win as ‘Running Man’ Chokes

Lionsgate’s Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is making magic at the domestic box office, where it’s headed for a surprise win ahead of Paramount’s big-budget The Running Man.

Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Now You See Me 3 topped Friday’s chart with $8.4 million for a better-than-expected opening of $21 million to $24 million from 3,403 theaters, according to studio insiders. (Rival studios show the threequel debuting to in the $22 million range.)

Among its bag of tricks? Females are turning out in droves to see the third installment in the long-dormant franchise about a group of thieving magicians, buying up 54 percent of all tickets sold so far. And solid exit scores among moviegoers are more than making up for so-so reviews, including a B+ CinemaScore and an 80 percent audience ranking on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film reunites franchise stalwarts Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher. Their characters, known as the Four Horsemen, are joined by a trio of younger magicians played by Justice Smith, Ariana Greenblatt and Dominic Sessa.

Heading into the weekend, Now You See Me 3 was tracking to debut in the $19 million range, while Running Man was tracking to top the chart with $24 million-$25 million. Paramount, however, was more cautious in suggesting $20 million. Based on Friday’s gross of $6.4 million from 3,534 cinemas, the studio has lowered its estimate to $17 million to $19 million. Rivals, however, show it coming in even lower, or $16 million.

Directed by Edgar Wright, Running Man‘s cast is led by Glen Powell. The pic marks the actor’s first box office miss since he rose to fame after starring in a string of hits, including Twisters, Anybody But You and Top Gun: Maverick.

Audience reaction can’t be blamed, considering that Running Man’s exit scores mirror Now You See Me 3 (and it has somewhat somewhat better reviews) One big difference between the two films is the gender breakdown; Running Man is skewing heavily male (64 percent), meaning it has to compete with holdover Predator: Badlands.

Wright’s movie is the second movie adaptation of Stephen King’s 1982 dystopian novel after the1987 film of the same name starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The storyline revolves around a desperate man who appears on a deadly reality show that takes advantage of a classist society where many don’t have enough money to live on. Josh Brolin, William H. Macy, Lee Pace and Emilia Jones also star.

Running Man is tipped to come in second, followed by Badlands and Regretting You.

Osgood Perkins’ Keeper, the other new wide opener of the weekend, is headed for a bleak debut in the $2.6 million range from 1,950 theaters. The Neon release is in a close race with holdover Black Phone 2 for fifth place after getting slapped with a D+ CinemaScore and awful audience exit polls.