Final Destination Bloodlines Tops Thunderbolts* With Record-Breaking Box Office

New horror film Final Destination Bloodlines ended Thunderbolts*’ two-week reign at the top of the box office charts with a record-breaking debut. According to Deadline, Bloodlines is projected to earn around $46 million domestically over its first three days, which would be a new high for the franchise. The $21 million domestically the film earned during its opening day on Friday, May 16th, which is also a series best. The previous highest opening for a Final Destination film was 2009’s The Final Destination with $27.4 million. Bloodlines is estimated to out-gross Final Destination 5‘s domestic total ($42.5 million) in one weekend.

After leading the box office for its first two weekends, Marvel’s Thunderbolts* is set to slide to second with a projected $15.5 million. It’s in a battle with Sinners, which is currently pegged to come in third with $15 million. The rest of the top five should be rounded out by A Minecraft Movie ($5.9 million) and The Accountant 2 ($4.5 million).

Heading into the weekend, Final Destination Bloodlines was estimated to do well at the box office, but it’s faring even better than initially expected. The projections indicated its opening weekend would be in the range of $35-40 million. Depending on how the next couple of days go, the film could get as high as $50 million. Final Destination Bloodlines was likely helped by the positive word of mouth, as its Rotten Tomatoes score is a series record.

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Thunderbolts* has been a somewhat curious performer for Marvel Studios. After a relatively soft opening (by MCU standards) to kick off the summer movie season, Thunderbolts* held well last week with only a 53% drop in its second weekend. It is projected to raise its domestic total to $154.4 million by the end of the weekend, which ranks among the lowest totals for an MCU movie. Despite positive word of mouth, Thunderbolts* hasn’t been a breakout smash.

Seeing how successful Final Destination Bloodlines has become, the natural inclination is to expect a sequel will be greenlit. However, Warner Bros. has yet to announce a follow-up, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens. For their part, Bloodlines directors Adam Stein and Zach Lipovsky doubt they would return for another installment, feeling they’ve exhausted their ideas for inventive deaths. Bloodlines earned praise for its horror set pieces, so it would be a loss if Stein and Lipovsky didn’t come back. Warner Bros. will likely want to continue the franchise in some capacity, meaning the studio may need to track down a different director who can put their unique spin on the established formula.

Final Destination Bloodlines sports a $50 million production budget, so it’s well on its way to turning a profit. Even if it ends up being front-loaded like most horror movies, it should enjoy a lucrative run in theaters. It isn’t facing much in the way of direct competition for its target demographic, so it should be able to hold its own against the one-two punch of Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning over Memorial Day weekend. Those two new arrivals will lead the holiday frame, but Bloodlines is set up for success.