Jordan Peele horror movie ‘Get Out’ takes on ‘Lego Batman’ at the box office – Los Angeles Times

Oscar week is here, which means Hollywoods attention is more focused on gold statuettes than new movies opening at themultiplex. But Sundays star-studded gala at the Dolby Theatre wont necessarily turn the box office intoa snooze-fest.

One reason to pay attentionis Get Out, thecritically acclaimed and politically timely new horror film from half of television comedy duoKey & Peele. The highly anticipateddirectorial debut of comedian-turned-horror maestroJordan Peele could rival The Lego Batman Movie for top spot at the domestic box office. Or the computer-animated superhero comedy could win for the third weekend in a row.

Meanwhile, Oscar crowd pleasersLa La Land,Hidden Figures and Lion will seek out additional dollars before their stars hit the red carpet.

Heres what to watch for at the box office this weekend:

Written and directed by Peele,Get Out has been a big deal on social media since Universal Pictures released the first trailer in October to 30 million views. Critics also have responded enthusiastically to its blend of genre film-making and social criticism, evidenced byan extremely rare 100% positive score from Rotten Tomatoes as of Tuesday.

Thats a good sign for the moviesprospects. The studio is projecting a debut of up to $19 million in ticket sales from the U.S. and Canada Friday through Sunday. Analysts who have reviewed pre-release audience surveys expect it to gross $20 million or more and become a breakout hit in the vein of M. Night Shyamalans latest thriller Split, released a month ago.

The movie follows a young black man (Daniel Kaluuya of Sicario) who meets his white girlfriends parents at their estate, only to find out that the situation is much more sinister than it appears. The movie was produced for $5 million by low-budgethorror shop Blumhouse Productions, and marks the feature film debut of Girls star Allison Williams.

Warner Bros.caped crusader parody The Lego Batman Movie" has shown impressive staying power with audiences. The irreverent comedy, featuring the voice of Will Arnett, grossed $42.7million during the Presidents Day weekend, down slightly from its opening the prior week. It easily could win again this weekend with around $20 million in sales, adding to its total of $107 million.

The $80-million cartoon also has picked up $72 million internationally, adding up to a global total of $179 million. Universals international hitsequel Fifty Shades Darker also will be in the mix after grossing $279 million around the world, including $91million at home.

Besides Get Out,newcomers arent expected to make much money at theaters this weekend. Lionsgates Rock Dog, a computer-animated family comedy about a pooch who wants to be a star musician, is on track to open with about $7 million.

Collide, a European-set action thriller with Felicity Jones and Anthony Hopkins, may do even worse. The ill-fated Collide" was once on Relativity Medias release schedule, but went to Open Road Films after Relativity went bankrupt in 2015. The long-delayed pictureis expected to open with $5 million.

With nine best picturenominees this year, and a handful of them still in theaters, some moviegoers are likely to play catch-up in the coming days.

The biggest Oscar buzz beneficiary remains Hidden Figures, the 20th Century Fox film about black female mathematicians and engineers at NASA in the 1960s. The movie is the highest-grossing best picture nominee, domestically, with $144 million, followed closely by La La Land with $134 million. Both are still in wide release.Weinstein Co.s Lion has enjoyed a late-in-life boost lifting its domestic total to $37 million after13 weeks in theaters.

ryan.faughnder@latimes.com

@rfaughnder

Read more:
Jordan Peele horror movie 'Get Out' takes on 'Lego Batman' at the box office - Los Angeles Times

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero