Box Office: ‘Possession of Hannah Grace’ Materializes $625,000 on Thursday Night

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – “The Possession of Hannah Grace” materialized with $625,000 at 1,866 North American locations in Thursday night preview screenings.

Sony’s supernatural horror film, the weekend’s only nationwide opening, is set to expand Friday to 2,065 sites, with the studio anticipating a three-day performance of about $3 million. The sophomore weekend of “Ralph Breaks the Internet” is pegged to take the top spot, with “Creed II,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” and “The Grinch” battling for second place.

Sony’s Screen Gems is distributing “,” which stars Shay Mitchell as a troubled ex-cop who takes the graveyard shift in a morgue and discovers a body that may be possessed by a ruthless demonic force. Kirby Johnson, Stana Katic, Grey Damon, and Nick Thune also star, with Diederik Van Rooijen directing from a script by Brian Sieve. “Hannah Grace,” which carries a $10 million price tag, is produced by Broken Road.

Disney’s animated comedy “” should repeat as the domestic box office leader with somewhere around $25 million to $30 million. The sequel has reeled in nearly $92 million in its first eight days through Wednesday.

MGM-New Line’s “” will probably make between $15 million to $20 million. The eighth installment of the Rocky franchise has passed $62 million domestically in its first eight days.

Warner Bros.’ third weekend of its tentpole sequel “” and Universal’s fourth frame of the animated holiday comedy “The Grinch” should continue to see solid business. “Grindelwald” has grossed $121 million in its first 13 days and “The Grinch” has hauled $184 million in 20 days.

Overall domestic moviegoing for 2018 has rebounded sharply from last year’s decline, with records set for February, April, June, and October. As of Nov. 28, grosses had reached $10.73 billion, up 9.8%, according to comScore.

“In the wake of the biggest Thanksgiving weekend ever, it’s big business as usual, as a single wide opener joins the hit parade with just a month left in the biggest box office year ever as moviegoers happily deal with the conundrum of which great film to choose during this very crowded holiday blockbuster and awards season,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with comScore.