Free Guy is looking to open above its original box-office expectations. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as Guy, an NPC character in a video game called Free City, who gains self-awareness and starts to defy his programming in the video game and change the world around him. The film is directed by Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy and also stars Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Taika Waititi.

The film was originally set to open in theaters on July 3, 2020, as one of the big releases for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was first moved to December 11, 2020, and then May 21, 2021. The final release date was set for August 13, 2021, and Free Guy was projected to open to around $15 million as it became apparent in recent weeks audiences were becoming more cautious of going out to the movies in the wake of rising COVID-19 cases brought on by the Delta variant.

Related: Does Free Guy Have An End-Credits Scene?

However, it appears Free Guy is performing better than industry insiders expected. According to Deadline, the film brought in $10.5 million on its opening night, which includes $2.2 million from the Thursday night preview screenings. The film is now on track to open to $26.4 million in its first three days, which is ahead of Reynold's other summer film, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, which opened to $17 million in five days.

Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer in Free Guy

For box-office comparisons, Free Guy opening weekend will open slightly above The Suicide Squad, which brought in $26.2 million in its opening weekend. The Suicide Squad had some factors in its favor, given the benefit of being an established property but being released day in date on HBO Max was working against it. Free Guy also opened above the opening weekend for Disney's Cruella, which brought in $21 million in its first three days. Emma Stone just confirmed her involvement in a Cruella sequel, so the film was considered a success to Disney. If Free Guy performs similarly, it could be another hit by pandemic standards.

One factor they may have worked in Free Guys favor is the fact that it is exclusive to theaters. Due to a prior agreement 20th Century Fox had with HBO, Disney was unable to do a hybrid release for Free Guy or any other films that were made by the now titled 20 Century Studio like the upcoming The Kings Man or Death on the Nile. Being a theatrical exclusive helped drive the box office for films like A Quiet Place: Part II and F9, and it is expected it cut into the opening weekend box-office returns for The Suicide Squad, Black Widow, and Jungle Cruise. Disney is now hoping that it works out in favor of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which is also opening exclusively in theaters.

Next: Everything We Know About Free Guy 2

Source: Deadline