‘Cocaine Bear’ Surpasses Expectations, $21M Opening Weekend Projected

etcanada.com:

“Cocaine Bear” is barreling into theatres in a big way. The bonkers horror-comedy from Elizabeth Banks was initially predicted to bring in between $15-$17 million at the box office in its opening weekend, but new projections indicate ticket sales will far exceed that estimate.

According to Variety, the film has so far raked in $8.6 million in its first day of release (as Deadline previously reported, that includes $2 million from its first night of previews on Thursday). READ MORE: Elizabeth Banks Opens Up About Working With Ray Liotta On ‘Cocaine Bear’ Not Long Before He Died The film (which is kind of but not really based on a true story) follows the carnage that ensues when a drug smuggler accidentally dumps a hefty shipment of cocaine in the woods, where it’s snorted up by a massive bear who goes on a drug-fuelled rampage of destruction.

As reviews have indicated, the film is even crazier than it sounds, and even its director admits “Cocaine Bear” is pretty out there. “I’m going to be honest with you, no one knows what to make of it when I tell them about it,” Banks told Variety at the film’s premiere. READ MORE: Elizabeth Banks On ‘Controversial’ ‘Cocaine Bear’ Scene Of Kids Sampling Drugs: ‘It’s Their Innocence Being Tested’ “My poor mother is the least informed,” she joked. “She’s going to go with my aunts and they’re going to lose their minds.” Also attending the premiere was star Keri Russell, who revealed she was planning to watch the film alongside her 15-year-old son. “I’m taking my son and a pack of wild teenagers,” she said. “I’m taking the parents, too.