Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One has opened with $3.8 million at 3,500 North American locations in Wednesday night previews.
The sci-fi fantasy is projected to open with $45 million over its four-day opening weekend, which should dominate the domestic box office over the Easter holiday period. Warner Bros.’ Ready Player One expands to 4,200 locations Thursday and is launching day and date internationally in 62 markets.
Based on Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel, Ready Player One is set both in a dystopian version of Columbus, Ohio, in 2045 and in an elaborate virtual reality world called Oasis to escape the grim reality of the world. The film, written by Cline and Zak Penn, stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance. Sheridan’s character, Wade Watts, discovers clues to a game within the program that promises the winner full ownership of the Oasis.
