Eternals Box Office Projections Lessen, Still Set to Win Opening Weekend

Marvel Studios' Eternals will open at the top of the box office this weekend. The film is doing well by most standard, but poorly by Marvel Cinematic Universe standards. It's expected to open with a domestic gross in the high $60 million or low $70 million range. The film is fighting against the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score in Marvel Cinematic Universe history, as well as Marvel Studios' lowest-ever CinemaScore rating. While surely not the total Marvel Studios was hoping for, that total will still be enough for Eternals to top the box office chart in its opening weekend.

While reviews of Eternals are mixed, ComicBook.com's Jamie Jirak enjoyed the movie, on the whole. "Eternals will likely be one of the more divisive films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe," Jirak writes in her review, giving the movie a 4-out-of-5 score. "The strong characters and visuals will be enough for some fans to consider it one of the best of the franchise while others will find its messy plot and extended runtime a hard pill to swallow. No matter how you feel about Eternals, there's no denying Phase Four is off to an exciting start."

Last week's chart-topper, Dune, falls to second place with an expected $6.4 million for the weekend, bringing its domestic total to $82 million. James Bond film No Time to Die lands in third place with an expected $6.1 million, bringing its total to $143.1 million. Venom: Let There Be Carnage is in fourth place with $4.1 million for the weekend and $196.6 million total. Disney animated film Ron's Gone Wrong is in fifth place with $3.2 million, raising its total to $17.2 million.

Per the official synopsis, "Marvel Studios' Eternals features an exciting new team of Super Heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows to reunite against mankind's most ancient enemy, the Deviants."

Chloé Zhao directed Eternals from a screenplay she co-wrote with Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo, and Kaz Firpo, based on the Marvel Comics created by Jack Kirby. The film stars Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie.  

What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Marvel's Eternals is now playing in theaters.