#Box Office Stunner: ‘Elemental’ in Close Race With Spidey for No. 1, ‘The Flash’ Battles ‘No Hard Feelings’ for No. 3

There’s high drama at the domestic box office this weekend, where Pixar’s Elemental and Sony holdover Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse are in a close race for No. 1.

Based on Friday business, the two pics could gross anywhere from $17 million to $19 million for the weekend. Some are giving Elemental a slight edge. The pic is falling off 39 percent or less, a stronghold for a film that many had written off. Elemental‘s performance is an indication that families are discovering the movie thanks to good word of mouth.

Across the Spider-Verse continues to be one of the highlights of the summer box office, considering it is now in its fourth weekend and will finish Sunday with a domestic total north of $300 million.

The news isn’t so good for The Flash, which opened opposite Elemental last weekend. Both started off last to decidedly dismal results.

Unlike Elemental, The Flash received poor exit scores and is falling off by more than 70 percent in its second weekend. Early estimates show The Flash earning $14 million to $16 million, putting it in a close race with Sony’s No Hard Feelings, an R-rated raunchy comedy starring Jennifer Lawrence, which is predicting $15 million.

Through Sunday, The Flash‘s domestic total should be $85 million or more, compared to around $65 million for Elemental.

No Hard Feelings — the first of several raunchy comedies opening this summer — earned a B+ CinemaScore. Lawrence stars alongside Andrew Barth Feldman in Gene Stupnitsky’s movie about a woman hired by an awkward teen’s parents to boost his confidence by dating him. The pic is doing better than expected.

Ditto for Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City as it expands nationwide after opening to stellar numbers last weekend in New York and Los Angeles. The film looks to gross as much as $8.4 million this weekend for a domestic cume of $9.6 million.