J. Kim Murphy The box office can be an institution of simple pleasures. Hollywood releases the story of a rampaging bear drugged out of its mind and — what do you know? — the people roll out. “Cocaine Bear” drew a solid $8.6 million opening day gross from 3,534 theaters, a figure that includes $2 million in previews on Thursday.
That places the Universal release ahead of projections heading into the weekend, which had the gory comedy pegged at a debut between $15 million and $17 million.
But a fun online marketing campaign and a killer premise have given the film a strong position, with a debut north of $21 million now in the cards.
That would mark an auspicious kick-off for “Cocaine Bear,” which carries a production budget of $35 million. Reviews have been a bit all over the place; the film carries a 51% approval rating from top critics on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.
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