Mile 22 debuted to $1 million on Thursday night. The STX release stars Mark Wahlberg, a shadowy CIA operative, who must extract a valuable asset. It reunites the actor with Peter Berg — the pair scored with 2013’s Lone Survivor, but Patriots Day and Deepwater Horizon — both released in 2016 — were box office disappointments. The hope is that Mile 22 will spark a new action franchise.
Before any sequels get the greenlight, Mile 22 has to ward off some stiff competition from the second weekend of The Meg and Crazy Rich Asians, a critically adored rom-com that is doing some big business after launching on Wednesday.
Crazy Rich Asians topped the box office on Thursday, picking up $3.8 million to push its two-day total to $8.8 million. The Meg, a thriller about a giant shark, added $3.2 million on Thursday to its $62.6 million domestic haul.
STX said Mile 22’s preview results compare favorably to those of American Made. The Tom Cruise thriller opened last September to $960,000 in previews. Its initial weekend gross topped out at $16.8 million. Mile 22 is expected to earn between $17 million to $18 million in its inaugural weekend. That should put it just behind The Meg, which is projected to add another $20 million to its gross.
