Hugh Jackman's Logan Clawing Toward $74 Million Opening

03/03/2017 09:07 pm EST

After pulling in $9.5 million in Thursday night previews and with Friday estimates coming in at $28 million, Logan is expected to gross $74 million at the North American box office this weekend — easily becoming the highest opening weekend for a film this year. The LEGO Batman Movie currently has the record, debuting stateside with $53 million last month.

Also, if that number holds, it would be well above the $65 million that 20th Century Fox predicted for Logan earlier this week. Plus, it would be the second best debut in the Wolverine series, putting it ahead of 2013's The Wolverine ($53.1 million) and behind 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine ($85M).

Meanwhile, Jordan Peel's Get Out is expected to drop down to second-place. After scaring up $30.5 million in its debut, the horror-comedy film is projected to earn $19 million in its second weekend.

In 2024 the mutant population has shrunk significantly and the X-Men have disbanded. Logan, whose power to self-heal is dwindling, has surrendered himself to alcohol and now earns a living as a chauffeur. He takes care of the ailing old Professor X whom he keeps hidden away. One day, a female stranger asks Logan to drive a girl named Laura to the Canadian border. At first he refuses, but the Professor has been waiting for a long time for her to appear. Laura possesses an extraordinary fighting prowess and is in many ways like Wolverine. She is pursued by sinister figures working for a powerful corporation; this is because her DNA contains the secret that connects her to Logan. A relentless pursuit begins … In this third cinematic outing featuring the Marvel comic book character Wolverine we see the superheroes beset by everyday problems. They are ageing, ailing and struggling to survive financially. A decrepit Logan is forced to ask himself if he can or even wants to put his remaining powers to good use. It would appear that in the near-future, the times in which they were able put the world to rights with razor sharp claws and telepathic powers are now over.

Logan stars Hugh Jackman (Logan), Boyd Holbrook (Donald Pierce), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Dafne Keen (Laura Kinney/X-23), Doris Morgado (Maria), Stephen Merchant (Caliban), Elizabeth Rodriguez (Gabriela), and Richard E. Grant (Dr. Zander Rice). James Mangold is directing and helped on the screenplay along with Scott Frank and Michael Green.

Logan hits theaters on March 3, 2017.

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