, en route to a $180 million global finish. That made it, for a time, one of the biggest original movies of the pandemic era. It was especially great for a movie with a mere $12 million budget. So an opening in a similar range sets it up for success, at least on the surface.

Part of the problem is that Brad Pitt's cool-looking racing drama "F1" also hits theaters that weekend, with a $56 to $72 million opening in the cards. A couple of weeks ago, Deadline had both movies opening in the $30 million range, but "F1" has seen its stock go up as the release date has crept closer. The other thing is that Universal and Blumhouse absolutely spent more than $12 million on the sequel. How much more, exactly? That's yet to be revealed, but even if it's triple the amount, $36 million is relatively cheap by summer movie standards.

Even so, it's hard to deny that competition is going to be a major factor here. "28 Years Later" arrives this upcoming weekend and figures to hold up pretty well. "Jurassic World Rebirth" is just around the corner in early July. It's a crowded summer season, and that's a key difference for Blumhouse and Universal this time around.