Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers should have a strong opening at the U.S. box office, expected to earn $25 million or more this weekend.
That would mark a career-best start for Jennifer Lopez outside of her animated films — as well as a much-needed boost for STX Entertainment.
Lopez stars opposite Constance Wu, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo and Cardi B in the fall festival darling, which drew particular praise for Lopez’s performance when making its world premiere recently at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The movie, which claims an 89 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is based on a 2015 New York magazine article about a group of strippers who team up to con male patrons in order to survive the Great Recession.
Hustlers should be in second for the weekend behind New Line and Warner It: Chapter Two, which could earn $35 million or more in its sophomore outing.
Warners is on double duty this weekend, between It: Chapter Two and new offering The Goldfinch, which is looking at a more muted debut of $7 million to $12 million.
Filmmaker John Crowley’s adaptation of the sprawling, Pulitzer Prize-winning Donna Tartt novel stars Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman and Sarah Paulson.
The Goldfinch likewise made its world premiere at TIFF, where it drew mostly blistering reviews (it also boasts a hefty running time of 149 minutes). The coming-of-age tale follows a 13-year-old boy who survives a terrorist bombing at an art museum. A painting he finds becomes his source of hope as he falls in with a nefarious crowd.