M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass is heading for a solid opening of about $47 million at 3,841 North American locations during its first four days, early estimates showed Friday.
The performance is slightly below Universal’s forecasts of $50 million for its supernatural thriller, which took in $3.7 million at 3,200 North American sites in Thursday night previews. Glass brings together the narratives of Shyamalan’s Unbreakable, which was released in 2000, and his 2017 hit Split.
Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, and Sarah Paulson star. Glass is expected to deliver the second-largest debut for January and for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, behind only American Sniper, which grossed $107.2 million during Friday-Monday in 2015. Glass could surpass Ride Along as the second-best bow during the four-day frame if it can top the $48 million that Kevin Hart and Ice Cube’s buddy comedy took in during the same period in 2014.
Shyamalan wrote, directed, and financed Glass, which carries a $20 million budget. McAvoy is reprising his his 24 roles as “the Horde” from Split, which debuted with $40 million two years ago on its way to a surprisingly strong $138 million domestically and $278 million worldwide. Willis is back as David Dunn along with Jackson as his Elijah Price/Mr. Glass character from Unbreakable. Paulson portrays a psychiatrist who treats patients convinced they are superhuman beings.
