Melissa McCarthy’s comedy “Spy” has launched with $1.5 million at preview showings Thursday in the U.S. It was edged out slightly by Gramercy’s debut of “Insidious: Chapter 3,” which scared up a respectable $1.6 million in previews at 2,150 locations.
“Spy,” Fox’s send-up of the espionage genre, began showing at 5 p.m., while the third “Insidious” started at 7 p.m. Jason Blum’s micro-budget leader Blumhouse produced the horror pic along with Oren Peli and James Wan.
Spy, which has received laudatory reviews, also stars Rose Byrne, Jude Law and Jason Statham. It’s expected to take in about $35 million this weekend across approximately 3,650 theaters. It should finish significantly above a pair of titles battling for second at around $25 million — Warner Bros.’ second weekend of Dwayne Johnson’s “San Andreas” and “Insidious: Chapter 3.”
“San Andreas” finished its first week with a solid $77.6 million in the U.S. It also took in $60 million last weekend in international markets.
The previews for “Spy” are in the same range as “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” which grossed $1.4 million is showings starting at 8 p.m. and McCarthy’s “The Heat,” which grossed $1 million in shows starting at 10 p.m. “Kingsman” opened with $36 million and went on to gross $128 million in the U.S. and $400 million worldwide; “The Heat” opened with $39 million and finished with a U.S. total of $159 million.
“Spy” has a 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Online ticket seller Fandango reported that “Spy” was its current leader with 21% of sales.
The first “Insidious” opened in April, 2011, with a $13.2 million weekend on its way to a $54 million total in the U.S. “Insidious: Chapter 2” launched with $40.2 million in 2013 and wound up with $83 million.
Warner’s “Entourage” got an early start on the weekend, grossing $7.4 million at 3,058 sites on Wednesday and Thursday. The big-screen version of the HBO series is expected to take in another $13 million during the weekend.
