Him came up short in its quest for a championship ring at the box office.
The sports thriller from Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions debuted domestically with a projected $13.5 million from 3,168 theaters, Comscore reported Sunday.
That averaged out to a solid $4,261 per location, but the film finished behind last week’s leader, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, which held onto the top spot.
Related: Marlon Wayans Takes Dramatic Turn as a Demented Quarterback in ‘Him’ Trailer
Him follows rising quarterback Cameron Cade (Tyriq Withers), whose dreams of greatness are nearly cut short when he’s attacked by an unhinged fan. Cade gets a lifeline when legendary quarterback Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans) offers to train him, leading to a twisted game on the field.
The cast also includes Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies, and MMA fighter Maurice Greene.
The film is directed by Justin Tipping (Run the World and The Chi) from a script written by Tipping, Zack Akers and Skip Bronkie.
Despite producer Jordan Peele’s widespread appeal, the film fell slightly behind analyst expectations, which had it opening in the $15-million dollar range.
The Universal Pictures release may have been hobbled by poor reviews and its paltry 28 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. While many reviewers praised Withers and Wayans for their performances, they took swipes at the production team.
Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com described the film as “thematically lost” and gave it 1/2 a star.
Daniels wrote, “I can’t believe I left the house to see HIM. I can’t believe I took the train for over an hour from the north side of Chicago to downtown to see this movie.”
Rendy Jones of Rendy Reviews also had the knives out, calling the thriller “obnoxious.”
Jones questioned the movie’s racial identity, writing: “Him lacks a Black voice to elevate its undeveloped themes,” noting, “Tipping is of Filipino and Scandinavian descent and co-writers Skip Bronkie and Zack Akers are white.”
Kathia Woods of the Philadelphia Tribune offered a slightly more positive assessment, writing: “HIM is a riveting movie, even if it doesn’t always hit the mark.”
Moviegoers were mixed, giving the thriller a “C-” CinemaScore in exit polling.
Elsewhere this weekend, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle held onto the top spot with $17.3 million.
After what looked like a close race, the anime blockbuster from Sony-owned Crunchyroll surged ahead. The film has a two-week domestic total through Sunday of $104.7 million, Comscore reported.
The Conjuring: Last Rites scared up another $12.9 million in its third weekend, for a third place finish.
The Long Walk and Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, both in their second weekends, tied for fourth place with an estimated $6.3 million each.
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