'Now You See Me 3’ opens at No. 1 with $20M+, makes $2.1 million in previews

Lionsgate is on track for its third No. 1 debut of 2025 with 'Now You See Me: Now You Don’t', which is conjuring up an impressive $20–$24 million opening after earning an estimated $7.5 million on Friday, including $2.1 million from previews. The film is showing in 3,403 theaters.

The third installment follows the Horsemen as they pull off their most dangerous illusion yet, stealing the Heart Diamond - a key source of illicit money - through a high-stakes magic performance. The movie has outperformed Predator: Land of Death, Chainsaw Man: Reze Edition, and First Ride to seize the top box-office spot.

Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Now You See Me 3 has earned the strongest reception of the Jesse Eisenberg–Woody Harrelson–Isla Fisher–Dave Franco trilogy, boasting a 60% critics’ score and 83% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, reported Deadline. Its social media footprint is enormous as well, reaching nearly 300 million followers across major platforms - more than double the second film’s reach nine years ago.


Lionsgate’s previous biggest opening of the year came from Ballerina, the John Wick spinoff, which debuted to $24.5 million in June. Though it ultimately underperformed at the box office, it helped boost the overall value of the John Wick franchise.

Meanwhile, the battle for second place this weekend is tight between Predator: Badlands in its second week and Paramount’s The Running Man reboot from Edgar Wright, starring Glen Powell. According to Deadline, both films are tracking around $15 million, with The Running Man seeing a $5.5 million Friday and Badlands pulling in $4 million from 3,725 locations.