The libidinous, drug-snorting puppets of "The Happytime Murders" will try to make a killing at the box office this weekend.
But the R-rated farce, from STXfilms and Jim Henson Co. (yes, really), will face stiff competition from Warner Bros.' "Crazy Rich Asians" and "The Meg," which have dominated August ticket sales as the summer film season draws to a close.
"The Happytime Murders," set in an underbelly of Los Angeles in which humans and puppets co-exist, is expected to debut with a so-so $13 million to $15 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada this Friday through Sunday, according to people who have reviewed prerelease audience surveys. It cost about $40 million to make.
Its grosses may not be enough to unseat "Crazy Rich Asians," the well-received romantic comedy that opened with a strong $35 million in its first five days of release last weekend. Jon M. Chu's film, about a Chinese American New Yorker who must contend with her boyfriend's astoundingly wealthy family in Singapore, is benefiting from substantial buzz because of its nearly all-Asian and Asian American cast.
Prehistoric shark movie "The Meg," meanwhile, has collected a solid $318 million worldwide, including $86 million in the United States and Canada.
Here's what to watch.
