Three sequels are competing for the box office this weekend: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Boo! A Madea Halloween, and Ouija: Origin of Evil.
Any one of the three films could end up topping charts, though tracking gives the edge to the latest Jack Reacher adventure.
Paramount is backing Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which brings back Tom Cruise as the former army officer turned general badass.
An opening of roughly $19 million is expected, when it bows in 3,600 locations, better than Jack Reacher’s $15 million debut four years ago.
The first film was a modest hit, grossing $218.3 million globally on a $60 million budget. Its stateside debut suffered from tragic timing. It was released days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and the film’s on-screen violence may have been a turnoff to a public still reeling from the murders of young children.
Never Go Back cost $60 million to make, the same budget as its predecessor, and a rarity for sequels, which usually see costs escalate as star salaries rise with each successive installment.
