Box office: ‘Horrible Bosses 2’ nabs $1 million on Tuesday

“Horrible Bosses 2” is off to a solid start at the box office, opening with Tuesday night pre-shows that grossed a studio-estimated $1 million in ticket sales.

That easily tops the comparable late-night take of the 2011 original, which clocked in at $365,000. That film went on to collect $28.1 million in its opening weekend, on its way to more than $117 million for its full domestic run.

The raunchy, R-rated sequel brings back comedic trio Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day. The Sean Anders-directed Warner Bros. film, which cost about $43 million to make, also stars Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx and Chris Pine.

It’s expected to gross $40 million or more in the U.S. and Canada through Sunday, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys.

“Horrible Bosses 2” should benefit from the original’s popularity among grown-up audiences, though the reviews of the new film have been decidedly worse than its predecessor’s. The first earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 69% positive, while the new movie has landed at about 30%.

It’s going up against a crowded field of box-office contenders, including the DreamWorks Animation spinoff “Penguins of Madagascar” and last week’s holdover hit “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1,” which should continue to do brisk business.

Though “Penguins,” distributed by 20th Century Fox, is tracking for a long weekend gross of about $55 million, it’s not likely to unseat the “Hunger Games” sequel for the top spot at the domestic box office.

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