The Magnificent Seven Expected to Top US Box Office in First Weekend

The Magnificent Seven is in theaters now, and Variety reports that early projections pinpoint the movie at a $32-34 million opening weekend at the US box office. Coming in at $34 million would make it the second-highest opening for a live-action western, behind Cowboys & Aliens which earned $36.4 million in its opening weekend.

On Thursday, The Magnificent Seven took in $1.75 million in previews, and it's projected to make $12 million on Friday. The action-western film will unseat last weekend's box office winner Sully, which pulled in almost $22 million.

The Antoine Fuqua-directed movie stars Denzel Washington (Man on Fire), Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Ethan Hawke (Training Day), among others. The movie follows seven gunslingers as they defend a small town from a mining tycoon and his cronies, who intend on taking control of the town by force.

The Magnificent Seven opens the same weekend as animated film Storks, which is targeting an $18-20 million opening weekend. Storks features the vocal talents of Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Katie Crown (Bob's Burgers), Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), Keegan-Michael Key (Keanu), Jordan Peele (Keanu), Jennifer Aniston (Friends), Ty Burrell (Modern Family), and Danny Trejo (Machete).

GameSpot critic Randolph Ramsay reviewed The Magnificent Seven and said, "It's certainly fun and cheer-worthy as the honorable good guys stand against the deeds of evil men. And its dedication to the well-trodden path makes it enjoyable, but not necessarily memorable. The Magnificent Seven is a bubblegum western in the best way possible, and it's about time we had another one of those mosey into town."