‘Free Guy’ on Track to Exceed Expectations With $26 Million Opening Weekend

The film will likely exceed expectations in its opening weekend, pulling in more than $10 million Friday and an estimated $16 million by Sunday

August 14, 2021

Free Guy is outperforming expectations.

According to Variety, the action-comedy starring Ryan Reynolds is headed toward a $26 million opening weekend at the domestic box office. The film, directed by Shawn Levy, was projected to debut around the $15 million to $20 million range, as some experts anticipated low ticket sales due to the recent spike in Delta variant cases. Free Guy was also the first Disney film to get an exclusive theatrical release in about a year. It’s expected to hit Disney+ sometime next month.

Free Guy racked in about $10.5 million on Friday from 4,165 U.S. theaters, and is on track to add up to $16 million by the end of the weekend.

The film tells the story of a bank teller named Guy (Reynolds), who realizes he’s a non-playable character in a video game. He eventually embarks on a quest to save the fictional world of “Free City” with the help of some altruistic game programmers. Taika Waititi, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Joe Keery co-star in the film.

Rodo Sayagues’s horror flick Don’t Breathe 2 is projected to come in at No. 2 at the U.S. box office, having earned around $4.4 million Friday, while the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect will come in at No. 3 ($3.6 million on Friday); followed by Jungle Cruise and The Suicide Squad, which are projected to haul an additional $8.9 million and $7.2 million, respectively.