The movie, directed by Darren Aronofsky, is crashing well below its expectations – expected to earn just $8 million in the US, taking third place.
For comparison, this time last week It was heading for an opening haul of well over $100 million.
Additionally, those who have turned out to see the film are hating it: Deadline reports that the CinemaScore audiences have given it that dreaded, rare ‘F’ grade.
So essentially it seems that studio execs should brace themselves for a big loss: Lawrence’s salary alone is thought to have come $15 million, with a huge press and marketing budget.
It, meanwhile,is expected to generate another $54 million this weekend.
American Assassin, meanwhile, is due to poll at number two with a safe debut of around $15.2 million.
Much has been made in recent weeks of how much Mother! has unsettled audiences, although the reviews weren’t all negative – despite allegedly getting booed at the Venice Film Festival, it did gain favour with some critics.
Lawrence herself explained the complex nature of the movie in an interview with The Telegraph.
She clarified: “I represent Mother Earth, Javier [Bardem], whose character is a poet, represents a form of God, a creator; Michelle Pfeiffer is an Eve to Ed Harris’s Adam, there’s Cain and Abel and the setting sometimes resembles the Garden of Eden.
“For Darren [Aronofsky, director] to take these massive biblical themes and condense them into a narrative about a house and a couple I think is just brilliant.
“I have never heard of anything like it.”
Mother! is out now.