Bong Joon Ho and Robert Pattinson’s Mickey 17 launches its theatrical expedition with $2.5M in Thursday preview screenings

Bong Joon Ho’s latest film, Mickey 17, earned $2.5M during Thursday preview screenings on its way to the top of the box office.

After a brief delay, Bong Joon Ho’s latest sci-fi epic, Mickey 17, is finally playing in theaters. The Live, Die, Repeat-like feature is off to a solid start with $2.5M in Thursday preview screenings. Bong Joon Ho is one of South Korea’s premiere filmmakers, having released films like Snowpiercer, The Host, Okja, and the Academy Award-winning psychological drama Parasite. His latest exploration of sci-fi themes stars Robert Pattinson as an “expendable” who goes on a dangerous mission to colonize an ice planet. As Mickey fails one mission attempt after the other, new versions of him try to complete the mission, but when the process goes awry, Mickey finds himself trapped in a deadly paradox. Mickey 17 has a good chance of reaching the top of the box office this weekend, but what’s the breakdown?

Analysts expect Mickey 17 to bank $17M to $20M domestically and $20M to $25M internationally. The combined totals could put Mickey 17 at $40M to $45M for its opening weekend. I hope positive word about the movie spreads because Mickey 17 cost $118M to produce, so it will need $275M to $300M to make a decent amount above its production dollars.

The official synopsis for Mickey 17 reads: “From the Academy Award-winning writer/director of “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho, comes his next groundbreaking cinematic experience, “Mickey 17.” The unlikely hero, Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) has found himself in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands the ultimate commitment to the job… to die, for a living.” In addition to Pattinson as the various Mickeys, the film also stars Steve Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, and Naomi Ackie. The film is based on the novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton, with Bong Joon-ho writing the script and directing.

JoBlo’s Editor-in-Chief, Chris Bumbray, reviewed Mickey 17 for the site, saying it’s “uneven” but “undeniably entertaining.” In his review, Chris praises the film’s strong visuals, with Darius Khondji’s cinematography especially impressive if you see this on an IMAX screen. “Indeed, Mickey 17 is all over the place in terms of quality,” Chris said. “It’s one of the few recent films where I went back and forth between thinking it was a disaster and a masterpiece over and over again – sometimes in the same scene, depending on who was being showcased.”

Outlets expect Mickey 17 to take the top spot at the box office this weekend, beating Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World after several weeks at the box office’s apex.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.