Alligator movie ‘Crawl’ is expected to be another horror success at the box office in a sea of Disney hits

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crawlParamount Pictures

  • The new horror movie "Crawl" earned $1 million in Thursday previews on its way to a successful opening weekend.
  • The movie’s production budget was $13.5 million, and it’s projected to gross between $10 million and $13 million this weekend.
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Disney is dominating the box office like no other studio this year, but alternative viewing could work in one movie’s favor this weekend.

"Crawl," a new horror movie from "The Hills Have Eyes" director Alexandre Aja, reeled in $1 million in US Thursday previews. It follows a woman trying to rescue her father from his hurricane-stricken house while alligators swim throughout the flooded home.

It’s not expected to be a smash hit, but with a small $13.5 million budget, it could be a success on its own terms. 

Box Office Mojo is estimating "Crawl" to earn $12.5 million domestically in its debut weekend. Boxoffice.com is projecting a more conservative number at $10.5 million, but noted that the creature-feature genre has a "penchant for over-performers in recent years via films like ‘47 Meters Down’ ($11.2 million) and ‘The Shallows’ ($16.8 million)."

"Crawl" is ahead of "47 Meters Down’s" $740,000 Thursday-preview earnings, and slightly below the $1.3 million "The Shallows" made.

"Crawl" is also receiving positive reviews from movie critics, which could help with word-of-mouth. It has an 88% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.

"Accepting the film’s own standard of plausibility, thrillseekers should appreciate the brisk pace with which scares, setbacks and possible escapes are delivered," The Hollywood Reporter wrote.

The movie’s only new competition this weekend is the buddy-comedy "Stuber." Disney holdovers "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and "Toy Story 4" are expected to top the box office again.

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Source: Business Insider – tclark@businessinsider.com (Travis Clark)

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