CNWGY - Sony's 'Bullet Train' makes tracks for end of summer movie season

Blockbuster movie season plants its last flag of 2022 this weekend, with one big star-driven film opening left before the back-to-school season ushers in a quieter set of releases.

That film is Sony's ( NYSE: SONY ) Bullet Train, starring Brad Pitt along with a game ensemble cast in an action adventure involving a handful of assassins pursuing a goal on a high-speed train.

The movie brought in $4.6M in Thursday previews, and with an opening in more than 4,300 domestic theaters, it's likely to lead the way this weekend with a debut in the $30M range - and then hope for a long, healthy run, at a reported $90M cost to produce (not to mention marketing).

It squares off against light family comedy Easter Sunday ( NASDAQ: CMCSA ), starring comedian Jo Koy, and A24 slasher comedy Bodies Bodies Bodies.

But neither of those films is likely to surpass last week's leader, DC League of Super-Pets ( WBD ) - which if it sheds 50% of opening-weekend business should still land at $11M-$12M. And Jordan Peele's Nope ( CMCSA ) is still out there after last weekend's $18.6M take, as is Thor: Love and Thunder ( DIS ), which pulled $13.2M in its fourth weekend .

In any case, with the release schedule calming, this is likely to be the biggest weekend at the movies for several weeks at least. Enjoying a relatively upbeat summer of moviegoing are the industry exhibitors: AMC Entertainment ( NYSE: AMC ); Cineworld ( OTCPK:CNNWF ); Cinemark ( NYSE: CNK ); ( IMAX ); Marcus ( MCS ); Reading International ( RDI ); Cineplex ( OTCPK:CPXGF ); National CineMedia ( NCMI ).

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