X-Men: Apocalypse Projected To Win Memorial Day Weekend Box Office

While it isn’t skewing very well with critics, 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: Apocalypse is set to enjoy a very rewarding memorial day weekend.

The film has already opened in 76 territories and has brought in $101.6 million from 20,796 screens so far (via Deadline). As of Thursday night, the film will hit American screens starting at 7pm. 4,100 theatres will show the new film, which despite critical reservations is still looking to open quite nicely for the studio, especially compared to other films in the franchise. For reference, Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand had a 58% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and still opened up to $122.9 million. Currently, X-Men: Apocalypse holds a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which has already climbed up some from the initial 38% it had earlier in the week.

The projections for the film have it opening from the low end of $80 million to the high end of #100 million. For comparison, X-Men: Days of Future Past opened up at $110.6 million, and ranks as the second highest grossing X-Men film in the franchise, with The Last Stand being the first.

Having a big brand like X-Men open up on Memorial Day weekend is a big change of pace for the studio, as typically it is used to promote original fare. The fact that both FOX and Disney are bringing their A game this time around speaks to how beaten down they’ve become with underperforming films over the past few years. X-Men: Apocalypse will have some healthy competition from Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, but there should be enough room for both films, with Apocalypse projected to win overall.

X-Men: Apocalypse features returning favorites like James McAvoy (Professor X), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), and Michael Fassbender (Magneto), along with a new group of mutants, and of course Apocalypse, played by Oscar Isaac.