Current box office projects from BoxOfficePro for the weekend suggest that Joker will nab another $43 million taking the top spot for the second weekend in a row. Also, the animated Addams Family movie is expected to take the number two position at $28.5 million placing Will Smith/Ang Lee’s Gemini Man at third $22.8 million.

Slightly disappointing domestic start for Paramount Pictures given how much they’ve spent on Gemini Man.

Deadline adds that the film is going to be a costly production as Paramount spent $138 million on the CGI heavy science fiction action film.

Gemini Man is cutting edge in its technology but as a screen story it is actually a taut throwback to action films of past decades. In fact, with Lee’s embrace of genre rhythms, it feels at some points like the $138 million production aspires to be most tricked-out low-budget thriller of all time. 

Those extra costs coming from de-aging Will Smith in the film with extensive CGI work as Smith goes up against a younger version of himself that has been cloned.

We’ll have to see how the film ultimately does this weekend along with how it fairs in overseas markets as well.

Gemini Man is an innovative action-thriller starring Will Smith as Henry Brogan, an elite assassin, who is suddenly targeted and pursued by a mysterious young operative that seemingly can predict his every move. The film is directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Ang Lee and produced by renowned producers Jerry Bruckheimer, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger. Also starring are Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen and Benedict Wong.

SOURCE: BOX OFFICE PRO & DEADLINE