Ryan Reynolds & John Krasinski Original Movie ‘If’ Shaping Up For $40M Opening – Box Office Early Look

Paramount’s Ryan Reynolds starring, John Krasinski directed all audience movie, If, is heading for a $40M-plus opening on May 17, which for a non-holiday in May and for an original movie, is very good.

The PG movie is hot with parents, kids, and the 17-34 crowd, especially female. If arrived on three-week pre-release tracking with a 16 unaided –that’s the category where those polled express interest in a movie without being prompted– which is very high, and higher than what DreamWorks Animation/Universal’s Kung Fu Panda 4 arrived on tracking with; that fourthquel debuting to $57.9M.

Hands down, another No. 1 win for the Brian Robbins-run Paramount studio which has already delivered Mean Girls ($28.6M opening) and Bob Marley: One Love ($51.5M opening) as the Melrose Lot remains in exclusive talks with Skydance/Red Bird for potential takeover.

Also hitting three-week in advance tracking this AM is Focus Features’ Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black, which is eyeing $6M-$8M, the movie having bagged already $15M-plus in its offshore release, as well as Lionsgate’s horror movie Strangers: Chapter One from filmmaker Renny Harlin, and starring Riverdale‘s Madelaine Petsch which has a swing from $6M-$10M in its 3-day.

The key to success for all these movies are there multiples as they play into the Memorial Day holiday weekend.