“The Fault in Our Stars,” the John Greene adaptation starring Shailene Woodley, is set to be the brightest star at the box office this weekend.
The tearjerker earned a stellar $8.2 million in Thursday night grosses. It rolled out at 9 p.m. in most cities.
That's significantly beyond the $4.9 million earned by Woodley's “Divergent” on its first night back in March. More amazingly, “Fault's” opening is up there with such recent big budget superhero hits like “The Amazing Spider-Man 2″($8.7 million) and “X-Men: Days of Future Past” ($8.1 million).
“Maleficent,” last week's top film, will bring some stiff competition, but “Fault” should earn in excess of $30 million for the weekend. Not bad for a film with a reported production budget of just $12 million.
“Fault's” opening numbers were bolstered by premium-priced events called “The Night Before Our Stars” — running up to $25 a pop — which featured both a screening and a simulcast Q&A with the cast and crew, including stars Woodley and Ansel Elgort.
The future is less bright for Tom Cruise's “Edge of Tomorrow,” despite rave reviews. The Doug Liman-directed film picked up $1.8 million on Thursday and will likely debut somewhere in the $25 million range.
It's a disappointment to be sure, but the pricey sci-fi film came out ahead of Cruise's last film, “Oblivion,” whose opening night grosses came to just $1.1 million. It went on to a $37 million debut.