Detective Pikachu is off to a strong start, based on the live-action Pokemon film's box office from Thursday night preview screenings.
The film earned an impressive $5.7 million at the domestic box office from Thursday night previews, putting it on track to earn $50-55 million domestically over the course of its opening weekend. This estimate puts it as the first film to take the top weekend box office spot from Avengers: Endgame as the Marvel Cinematic Universe sequel enters its third weekend in theaters.
Detective Pikachu currently boasts a fresh rating on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes and sits as the most critically acclaimed live-action video game adaptation of all time. CBR's own advance review of the film lauded it for successfully translating Nintendo's long-running Pokemon franchise to live-action on the big-screen.
In addition to Avengers: Endgame, the film faces competition from new comedies The Hustle and Poms, which open this weekend, as well as the J.R.R. Tolkien biopic Tolkien.
Directed by Rob Letterman from a script written by Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit, Detective Pikachu stars Justice Smith, Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe and the voice of Ryan Reynolds.