Insidious: The Last Key Pulls In $2 Million In Thursday Previews

Insidious: The Last Key has scared up $1.98 million in Thursday previews ahead of an expected $20 to $22 million opening weekend. (via Deadline) The horror film features Lin Shaye as Elise Rainier, a parapsychologist who returns to the home she lived in as a child to investigate recent supernatural occurrences. The film is the fourth in the Insidious series, serving as a sequel to 2015's Insidious: Chapter 3.

The Last Key's $1.98 million tops Chapter 3's $1.55 million Thursday previews and is especially impressive when considering the devastating winter storm that led to many theater closures across the East Coast. Chapter 3 went on to a $22.3 million opening weekend; Chapter 2, which brought in $1.5 million in previews, holds the title for the largest opening of the franchise to date with $40.3 million. The Last Key has been trashed by critics, with a 21 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Last Key isn't expected to top recent box office winners Star Wars: The Last Jedi or Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. The Last Jedi, which holds the title for the highest domestic gross of 2017, lost its top box office spot to Jumanji on New Year's Day, and the two will be competing for number one once again, with both projecting for somewhere between $25 and $26 million. 

Audiences have a lot of options in theaters this weekend. Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game is set to expand wide and should make a box office impact with $5 to $8 million, while Hugh Jackman's The Greatest Showman and Universal's Pitch Perfect 3 will both be competing for fourth and fifth place with hauls around $11 million. Also in the mix for the top ten are Ferdinand, Coco, The Darkest Hour, All the Money in the World, Downsizing, and The Shape of Water.