‘spy’, ‘insidious: chapter 3’ & ‘entourage’ will try to stop the rock – b. O. Preview

This coming weekend is so busy at the box office that it’s literally starting tonight. Warner Bros’ _Entourage, _the big-screen version of the glitzy Hollywood HBO series, will be the first

of three wide releases to open with 7 PM previews. Friday brings 20th Century Fox/The Chernin Group’s R-rated Melissa McCarthy comedy _Spy_ and Gramercy Pictures/Blumhouse’s PG-13 horror pic

 _Insidious: Chapter 3. __ _ And then you have Warner Bros./New Line’s _San Andreas, _which is still performing strong. After a $4.8M Monday, pundits believe the Dwayne Johnson pic will fall

at least 50% with a $27M take. Could it hold No. 1? Maybe, but the gut feeling from a number of insiders is that _Spy _could take it with an estimated FSS ranging from the high $20Ms to mid

$30Ms. _Entourage,_ also rated R,_ _is getting ahead of the pack at 3,108 playdates in order to generate any kind of positive word of mouth it can. The film will wind up the lower of the

three new openers with a FSS in the high teens, maybe $20M. Tracking for _Entourage _is strongest among males 25+ at 77% total awareness followed by women 25+ with 72%. The film reunites the

TV series cast — Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara — in what has been a story loosely based on Mark Wahlberg’s showbiz life. While the town

consistently cries that tracking is off — and note, that’s typically in instances where films are opening below their projected estimates — films have been overperforming their

NRG/Marketcast/Screen Engine measures this summer; prime examples being _Pitch Perfect 2 _and _San Andreas _(many thought the Brad Peyton directed film would open in the $30M range last

week). _Spy _reteams McCarthy for the third time with her _Bridesmaids _and _The Heat _helmer Paul Feig. The pic kicks off with previews on Thursday night at 5 PM and will play in an

estimated 3,700 locales by Friday. _Spy _is on a similar tracking path to that of _The Heat_ ($39.1M opening, $159.6M final domestic),_ _which skewed mostly female. However, _Spy_ has been

gaining traction with guys. The comedy_ _follows a low-rung C.I.A. analyst who is thrust into the high-stakes, bullet-dodging field complete with gorgeous British counterparts who are

portrayed by Jude Law, Jason Statham and Rose Byrne. The comedy played like gangbusters before exhibitors at CinemaCon in late April followed by a huge after-party with pop artist Ivy Levan

who sang the film’s theme song “Who Can You Trust?” WATCH ON DEADLINE _Insidious: Chapter 3 _is bowing close to two years after its previous installment _Insidious: Chapter 2,_ which rang up

a $40.3M opening on its way to a final cume of $83.6M. The threequel will go out in over 3,000 engagements and is eyeing a weekend take in the mid $20Ms. Previews start Thursday night.

Currently, the film is skewing the strongest among the under 25 demo with strong interest from multicultural moviegoers. Keeping with the Blumhouse microbudget model, _Insidious: Chapter 3 

_cost a reported $10M. eOne is handling the film in Canada while Focus Features’ genre label Gramercy has it_ _stateside. (Focus acquired rights to _Insidious_ from the former distribution

entity FilmDistrict.) Pic is written and directed by Leigh Whannell, who also stars in the film. _Insidious: Chapter 3 _is a prequel, set before the first two films, which revolved around

the haunting of the Lambert family. Hence Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne aren’t starring in the film this time around, rather it’s led by Dermot Mulroney and Lin Shaye. She plays a gifted

psychic who reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl (Stefanie Scott) who has been targeted by a dangerous spirit.