Saturday Update: As expected, Shazam! is on course to finish atop the box office again this weekend as it added $6.365 million on Friday, bringing its eight-day domestic haul to $76.1 million. The strongly received DC film from Warner Bros. looks to top $24+ million in its second frame.

Little scored a healthy debut for Universal with $5.37 million on opening day (inclusive of Thursday night shows). Comping not far behind the $6.59 million first day of What Men Want earlier this year, this high concept comedy marks another counter-programming success for producer Will Packer. We’re expecting around $15 million+ for the weekend based on current projections.

Beyond those titles, unfortunately, two of the weekend’s key openers significantly disappointed. Lionsgate’s Hellboy remake proved to open well below expectations with $4.93 million on opening day. That comes in 36 percent behind Ghost In the Shell‘s $7.66 million debut two years ago, and just ahead of Underworld: Blood Wars‘ $4.87 million first day several months before that. Poor reviews and a general lack of enthusiasm among even die hard fans — who still hold Guillermo del Toro’s previous two films in high regard — are contributing to the underwhelming start, which will likely give way to significant front-loading considering the month’s superhero competition. We’re projecting around $12 million for the weekend.

Opening even further below expectations based on pre-release tracking, Missing Link scored a lukewarm $1.611 million opening day yesterday. Despite positive reviews and the typically reliable Laika brand name — which has never debuted a film below a $12.6 million weekend (Kubo and the Two Strings) — the film’s limited marketing push, as well as the spotty history of stop-motion animation among today’s young audiences, are contributing to the under-performance. While a strong weekend multiple and staying power in the weeks ahead are generally still expected, we’re now projecting around $6 million for the opening frame.

Last but not least among the openers, and notably ahead of expectations, After took in $2.9 million on opening day Friday for distributor Aviron. That nearly doubles the $1.49 million first day of Midnight Sun last year, against which After had been closely tracking ahead of its debut. The studio projects a solid $7.7 million opening weekend.

Meanwhile, among holdovers: Pet Sematary grossed $2.93 million to begin its second frame, standing at $34.1 million after eight days; Dumbo added $2.27 million on Friday for an updated $83 million domestic cume; Captain Marvel tacked on another $2.21 million and cracked $380.1 million domestically; and, Us added $2.09 million for a new tally of $158.6 million.

Early weekend estimates are below with studio updates to follow on Sunday.

Friday Update: Lionsgate reports this morning that Hellboy earned an estimated $1.38 million from Thursday night shows at an estimated 2,700 locations. That registers 38 percent ahead of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter‘s $1.0 million start in January 2017, while coming in 23 percent behind Ghost In the Shell‘s $1.8 million kickoff in late March of the same year.

Meanwhile, Universal’s Little is off to a fair start with $735K earned from shows beginning at 7pm in 2,200 locations last night. That’s 26.5 percent off I Feel Pretty‘s $1.0 million start last April, although comps for original comedies are even less reliable than those of trend-heavy franchise pics.

Meanwhile, After banked $550K last night, while Missing Link reportedly took in $230K.

More updates throughout the weekend, and be sure to check out our earlier Weekend Forecast.

The post Weekend Estimates: <em>Shazam!</em> Champion Again ($24M+); <em>Little</em> Healthy ($15M+); <em>Hellboy</em> ($12M) & <em>Missing Link</em> ($6M) Soft; <em>After</em> Beats Expectations ($7.7M) appeared first on Boxoffice.