The box office is welcoming back Robert Pattinson — a lot of him.
Pattinson stars in “Mickey 17,” an R-rated sci-fi movie from “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho, where he plays multiple clones of the same person who dies repeatedly. The Warner Bros. movie has made $2.5 million in Thursday previews at the box office so far.
It’s on track to open domestically with $18 million to $20 million this weekend and $20 million to $25 million internationally. That would put its global opening at $40 million to $45 million. “Mickey 17” cost $118 million to make, so it’ll need around $275 million to $300 million at the global box office to turn a profit, which will be a challenge.
Based on the book “Mickey 7” by author Edward Ashton, “Mickey 17” is Bong’s first film since 2019’s “Parasite,” which won the Academy Awards for best picture, director, original screenplay and international feature. Pattinson is Mickey Barnes, an expendable worker who’s sent to an inhospitable planet far out in space to colonize it. As part of his uniquely fatal job, Mickey is subjected to deadly outer-space conditions and brought back to life as a reanimated clone. Like the title suggests, Mickey is on his 17th iteration of himself. However, things take a twist when an 18th version of himself is accidentally cloned, breaking the no-multiples rule on the ship. The “Mickey 17” cast also includes Steven Yeun, Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo and more.
With little competition at the box office, “Mickey 17” will be the box office champ, beating out Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World,” which has been playing in theaters since Feb. 14.
