One day before the world of baseball honors pioneer Jackie Robinson, his legacy received a major boost when the biopic of his life, 42 opened number one at the box office bringing in an estimated $27.3 million.
The film, released by Warner Bros. (The Batman Trilogy), was financed personally by Legendary studio’s CEO Thomas Tull and was written and directed by Brian Helgeland (A Knight’s Tale), and stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey. 42 outperformed expectations and was embraced by moviegoers. The film was predicted to open in the mid-to-high-teen millions.
The film also befitted by telling a story of a hero from the hometown of the beloved Dodgers where five of the ten highest grossing theaters in the country opened the film. Currently playing in over 3,000 locations, Warner Bros. expects to expand it to additional locations this week.