Industry tracking suggests that the current leaders—20th Century Studios’ The Devil Wears Prada 2, Lionsgate’s Michael, and New Line’s Mortal Kombat II—will continue to anchor ticket sales before the next wave of releases reshapes the rankings.
Midweek numbers showed a tight race between the top two titles. Both The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Michael earned $4.7 million on Tuesday, while Wednesday saw Michael edge ahead with $3.3 million compared to $3.2 million for Devil 2. The back-and-forth performance highlights a competitive corridor at the top of the chart, with audience turnout remaining steady across both films.
“Michael passed $604M on Tuesday,” according to studio figures, with $353.8 million coming from international markets and more than $250 million domestically. Its current domestic total stands at $253.5 million. The Devil Wears Prada 2 trails behind on the domestic front, with a cumulative $154.7 million.
A key advantage for Michael this weekend is expected to come from premium format expansion, including increased access to PLF and IMAX screens, which often drive higher per-ticket revenue.
Meanwhile, Mortal Kombat II is tracking for a steep second-weekend decline of around 60%, which would bring its domestic total to roughly $15 million for the frame. The film opened with $38.5 million in North America last weekend, landing closely in line with early projections.
Below the top three, three new wide releases are expected to compete for smaller but notable shares of the box office.
Focus Features and Blumhouse’s Obsession, a horror entry from YouTube filmmaker Curry Barker, is projecting an $8 million to $9 million opening across 2,542 locations, including 435 premium large-format screens. The film follows a young man who discovers a mysterious object capable of making the girl of his dreams fall in love with him—an ability that quickly spirals into chaos. Early critical reception has been strong, with a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score and an audience rating of 96%. Previews begin Thursday at 2 p.m.
Black Bear’s In the Grey, directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Eiza González, is also entering the marketplace. The R-rated espionage thriller, set in the world of covert operations, is tracking a $4 million to $6 million debut from roughly 2,000 theaters. Despite a delayed release history and a two-year shelf period, early interest skews slightly toward men over 25, a core demographic for Ritchie’s action catalog. Previews begin Thursday at 4 p.m.
Amazon MGM Studios’ Is God Is is the smallest of the wide releases, expanding to 1,510 locations with a projected $3 million opening. Adapted from Aleshea Harris’ acclaimed stage play, the film follows two sisters on a revenge-driven journey shaped by a complicated family past. The ensemble cast includes Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Janelle Monáe, Erika Alexander, Sterling K. Brown, and Vivica A. Fox. Critical response has been exceptional, with a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score across 46 reviews.
As the weekend unfolds, analysts expect the holdovers to maintain their dominance until next week’s influx of new competition resets the box office landscape ahead of the Memorial Day surge.