Ready Player One crossed the $50 million mark at the box office in its opening weekend over the Easter holiday.
Warner expected $45 million with a possible upside, while rivals gave forecasts in the $55 million range for the Thursday to Sunday period.
The film opened with $3.8 million at 3,500 North American locations in Wednesday night previews and will likely dominate the domestic box office this weekend.
The sci-fi fantasy expands to 4,234 locations Thursday and is launching day and date internationally in 62 markets.
Written by Cline and Zak Penn, the film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Oscar winner Mark Rylance.
Good but not stellar reviews: Ready Player One has a 76% “fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes
