Queen Biopic will debut at $ 46 million – Variety

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is preparing for rhapsodic debut from 4,000 North American sites with an estimated budget of $ 46 million.

Fox's biopic starring Rami Malek as Queen's leader Freddie Mercury earned $ 18.4 million on Friday. Bryan Singer directed the film from Anthony McCarten's screenplay. Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello, Aidan Gillen, Tom Hollander and Mike Myers are also on the bill.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" sits 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an A CinemaScore.

The Christmas photo "The Nutcracker and the Four Kingdoms" is expected to start in second place with approximately $ 18 million from 3,766 national sites. This marks a disappointing start for the Disney film, starring Keira Knightley, whose production budget is estimated at more than $ 100 million.

Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston directed the film, while Ashleigh Powell wrote the screenplay. Mackenzie Foy, Eugenio Derbez, Matthew Macfadyen, Richard E. Grant, Misty Copeland, Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman are also on the bill. The Nutcracker follows a girl who has to overcome a series of challenges in a parallel world to save the four worlds.

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Tyler Perry's "Nobody's Fool", starring Tiffany Haddish, is expected to open nearly $ 12 million in 2,468 theaters. Paramount's latest comedy earned $ 4.8 million on Friday. Tika Sumpter, Omari Hardwick, Mehcad Brooks, Amber Riley and Whoopi Goldberg are also on the movie poster, which was directed and written by Perry. Although "Nobody's Fool" sits at 25% on Rotten Tomatoes, he has won an A-CinemaScore among movie buffs. Haddish plays the role of a recently released parolee who is trying to help her sister (Sumpter) take revenge on a man who flogged her.

The "One Star is Born" and "Halloween" delays are expected to compete for fourth place, each adding another $ 10 million.

Warner Bros. "A star is born", which is in its fifth weekend, has already brought in $ 157 million in the interior and $ 106 million abroad. The "Halloween" restart of Jamie Lee Curtis broke records during his first weekend two weeks ago, winning $ 76 million – the opening record of a film directed by a woman of over 55, a horror film at the head of a second highest opening for an October movie. It earned $ 142 million in the domestic market and $ 46 million internationally.

Focus Features 'Boy Erased' will be released in five theaters this weekend. Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Joel Edgarton and Russell Crowe take the lead in the film about a young man sent to a gay conversion program.

Marie Colvin's biopic "A Private War" debuts in four theaters. The movie Aviron stars Rosamund Pike as Colvin and Jamie Dornan in photographer Paul Conroy. Matthew Heineman directed the film from a screenplay by Arash Amel, inspired by Marie Brenner's Vanity Fair article "The Private War of Marie Colvin". Stanley Tucci, Tom Hollander and Corey Johnson are also on the bill.

Sony Classics presents the documentary "Maria by Callas" in 16 cinemas. Filmmaker Tom Volf's film tells the story of opera legend Maria Callas.

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