Hollywood’s Magician Crew Dazzles, Leaving Glen Powell’s Action Hero in the Dust

Olivia Bennett, 11/16/2025 “Now You See Me 3” vanishes box office predictions in a dazzling cloud of nostalgia and marketing sorcery, leaving rivals chasing its sequined coattails. Hollywood’s old magic returns: disappear for a decade, reappear with flair, and—abracadabra!—the crowd swoons. Sometimes, showbiz’s greatest trick is reminding us why we believe.

A twelve-year nap between franchises might sound like career suicide in an era when a “cinematic universe” launches sequels each time an actor blinks. Still, there it is—a magician’s reunion, brimming with suspense and trickery, finding its audience right where Hollywood left it. There’s a lesson hiding beneath the velvet drapery: sometimes letting an idea marinate actually primes the pump for a grander return. Far from being a desperate resuscitation, "Now You See Me 3" proves that with the right sleight of hand—and perhaps just a pinch of social media nostalgia—almost anything can be conjured back to life.

Credit where it’s due: Lionsgate’s marketing machine proved itself deft as ever this time around. Online, fans rallied behind punchy battle cries—“The OG’s are back!” echoed across TikTok and Instagram, recasting the series as cinema’s own band of Avengers (albeit sporting tailored three-pieces and the world’s most suspicious deck of cards). Even those who typically sniff at franchise resurrections seemed willing to swap cynicism for popcorn. Comfort cinema, it appears, still sits on a pedestal—especially when the clouds roll in over Los Angeles and people are searching for a bit of silver screen escapism.

Of course, behind every box office sleight-of-hand, there’s a rival waiting in the wings. This weekend, it was Paramount’s "The Running Man," an Edgar Wright-led revival of the 1987 dystopian cult classic, this time running on the new blood of Glen Powell. Pre-release tracking crowned it as the likely winner—and yet, come Sunday night, it faced the ignominy of second-place limbo, adrift in a heated scuffle with the grittier "Predator: Badlands." Not that $16 to $18 million is chump change, but it’s certainly more a polite round of applause than the confetti drop Paramount envisioned. Maybe Glen Powell’s beloved jawline swayed a few hearts, but it stopped short of flipping the date-night demographic; “Running Man” skewed heavily male, while the magician flick charmed its way into a broader, largely female crowd—never underestimate the lure of dapper mischief when choosing weekend plans.

Tracking numbers only tell half the story; it’s the audience pulse that delivers the rest. Both "Now You See Me 3" and "The Running Man" walked away with solid B+ CinemaScores, but the crowd’s affection leans theatrical. “Now You See Me 3” edges ahead—not just critically (Rotten Tomatoes tipping a hat with 60% fresh, sure, but audience scores dazzle at 83%). The franchise’s self-aware nods—finally cracking the “Now You Don’t” joke—did wonders for its rapport. In 2025, a cultural wink goes a long way. The distance between cash-in and crowd-pleaser is thinner than a playing card, but this time, audiences tipped their hand: they wanted spectacle with style, not just brands in motion.

Let’s not tiptoe around the box office chess match, either. Lionsgate’s move to skip IMAX in favor of Premium Large Formats (PLF) might not sound headline-worthy, but the numbers tell the trick: a full 1 in 5 of those magician dollars came from PLF screens. The strategy—quiet, almost sly—signals a new kind of format battle for multiplex supremacy. Over at AMC Empire in New York, cash registers sang to the tune of $30,000 before the weekend hit its stride—a dazzling feat for any studio exec tracking regional strongholds from L.A. to, say, Denver or Austin, both of which showed up for card tricks in big numbers.

But the wand-waving didn’t stop at the U.S. border. Chinese audiences, long smitten with Hollywood magic (recall the nearly $100 million second-outing in China), handed the threequel $16 million in early returns. Lionsgate, ever the savvy global operator, is hedging its bets on stage too—think a “Now You See Me” live show at the Sydney Opera House. It’s the kind of cross-market performance that blends red carpet dazzle with the cultural capital of live entertainment—no easy feat in a year when streaming giants are nipping mercilessly at theatrical heels.

Of course, no weekend box office tale unspools alone. "Predator: Badlands" stalked into third with a predictable drop-off, just as "The Keeper" (all rising chills, tiny budget) and the earnest "Regretting You" filled out the remainder of the top five. Each serves as a reminder: spectacle comes in different sizes, and audiences can pivot from big-budget bombast to micro-scale terror within a single rainy weekend.

So the stage resets for another act. Hollywood’s endless appetite for comebacks and sequels marches on, but if this weekend proved anything, it’s that there’s still magic to be found—a certain electricity when old favorites step out from behind the curtain for one more trick. Vanish for a decade, return with a little showmanship, and, just maybe, remind a jaded crowd why they believed in movie magic to begin with.

And as the curtain falls (for now), one nagging thought lingers: perhaps, in an industry obsessed with churning out the next big thing, it’s the familiar—repackaged with just enough wit and polish—that truly brings out the wonder. The critics might keep their pens poised, but for now, audiences are back in their seats, eyes bright, hands ready for the next sleight.

Hollywood, that ever-inventive illusionist, has pulled another glittering rabbit from the hat. Lionsgate’s "Now You See Me: Now You Don’t" swept into cinemas with just enough showmanship and shimmer to surprise not only audiences but the very suits who stalk box office projections with nervous calculators. For weeks, industry predictions had the film trundling along at best—no one, not even the savviest studio analyst in Beverly Hills, expected Friday numbers to crack $8.4 million, much less a weekend finish breaching the low $20 millions. Yet when the final receipts tumble in, it looks like Hollywood’s nostalgia-soaked gamble has, yet again, paid off.A twelve-year nap between franchises might sound like career suicide in an era when a “cinematic universe” launches sequels each time an actor blinks. Still, there it is—a magician’s reunion, brimming with suspense and trickery, finding its audience right where Hollywood left it. There’s a lesson hiding beneath the velvet drapery: sometimes letting an idea marinate actually primes the pump for a grander return. Far from being a desperate resuscitation, "Now You See Me 3" proves that with the right sleight of hand—and perhaps just a pinch of social media nostalgia—almost anything can be conjured back to life.Credit where it’s due: Lionsgate’s marketing machine proved itself deft as ever this time around. Online, fans rallied behind punchy battle cries—“The OG’s are back!” echoed across TikTok and Instagram, recasting the series as cinema’s own band of Avengers (albeit sporting tailored three-pieces and the world’s most suspicious deck of cards). Even those who typically sniff at franchise resurrections seemed willing to swap cynicism for popcorn. Comfort cinema, it appears, still sits on a pedestal—especially when the clouds roll in over Los Angeles and people are searching for a bit of silver screen escapism.Of course, behind every box office sleight-of-hand, there’s a rival waiting in the wings. This weekend, it was Paramount’s "The Running Man," an Edgar Wright-led revival of the 1987 dystopian cult classic, this time running on the new blood of Glen Powell. Pre-release tracking crowned it as the likely winner—and yet, come Sunday night, it faced the ignominy of second-place limbo, adrift in a heated scuffle with the grittier "Predator: Badlands." Not that $16 to $18 million is chump change, but it’s certainly more a polite round of applause than the confetti drop Paramount envisioned. Maybe Glen Powell’s beloved jawline swayed a few hearts, but it stopped short of flipping the date-night demographic; “Running Man” skewed heavily male, while the magician flick charmed its way into a broader, largely female crowd—never underestimate the lure of dapper mischief when choosing weekend plans.Tracking numbers only tell half the story; it’s the audience pulse that delivers the rest. Both "Now You See Me 3" and "The Running Man" walked away with solid B+ CinemaScores, but the crowd’s affection leans theatrical. “Now You See Me 3” edges ahead—not just critically (Rotten Tomatoes tipping a hat with 60% fresh, sure, but audience scores dazzle at 83%). The franchise’s self-aware nods—finally cracking the “Now You Don’t” joke—did wonders for its rapport. In 2025, a cultural wink goes a long way. The distance between cash-in and crowd-pleaser is thinner than a playing card, but this time, audiences tipped their hand: they wanted spectacle with style, not just brands in motion.Let’s not tiptoe around the box office chess match, either. Lionsgate’s move to skip IMAX in favor of Premium Large Formats (PLF) might not sound headline-worthy, but the numbers tell the trick: a full 1 in 5 of those magician dollars came from PLF screens. The strategy—quiet, almost sly—signals a new kind of format battle for multiplex supremacy. Over at AMC Empire in New York, cash registers sang to the tune of $30,000 before the weekend hit its stride—a dazzling feat for any studio exec tracking regional strongholds from L.A. to, say, Denver or Austin, both of which showed up for card tricks in big numbers.But the wand-waving didn’t stop at the U.S. border. Chinese audiences, long smitten with Hollywood magic (recall the nearly $100 million second-outing in China), handed the threequel $16 million in early returns. Lionsgate, ever the savvy global operator, is hedging its bets on stage too—think a “Now You See Me” live show at the Sydney Opera House. It’s the kind of cross-market performance that blends red carpet dazzle with the cultural capital of live entertainment—no easy feat in a year when streaming giants are nipping mercilessly at theatrical heels.Of course, no weekend box office tale unspools alone. "Predator: Badlands" stalked into third with a predictable drop-off, just as "The Keeper" (all rising chills, tiny budget) and the earnest "Regretting You" filled out the remainder of the top five. Each serves as a reminder: spectacle comes in different sizes, and audiences can pivot from big-budget bombast to micro-scale terror within a single rainy weekend.So the stage resets for another act. Hollywood’s endless appetite for comebacks and sequels marches on, but if this weekend proved anything, it’s that there’s still magic to be found—a certain electricity when old favorites step out from behind the curtain for one more trick. Vanish for a decade, return with a little showmanship, and, just maybe, remind a jaded crowd why they believed in movie magic to begin with.And as the curtain falls (for now), one nagging thought lingers: perhaps, in an industry obsessed with churning out the next big thing, it’s the familiar—repackaged with just enough wit and polish—that truly brings out the wonder. The critics might keep their pens poised, but for now, audiences are back in their seats, eyes bright, hands ready for the next sleight.