Despite horrific reviews, Horrible Bosses 2 is hoping to keep audiences out of the stores this weekend and in movie theaters. So far, the R-rated comedy is doing its job, getting off to a strong start from early screenings.

Warner Bros. and New Line gave the film late night screenings Tuesday night, ahead of its wide opening today. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film reeled in $1 million from the early showings. That’s much better than the original film’s $365,000 start during summer 2011.

The original Horrible Bosses opened to $28 million and finished with $117 million domestically. Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman and Charlie Day all returned for the sequel, along with Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Aniston. Christoph Waltz and Chris Pine play the villains.

Bosses 2 is expected to finish the five-day holiday stretch with around $35 million to $40 million. That should still put it behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I. The movie is also up against DreamWorks Animation’s Penguins of Madagascar, which opened today.

Disney’s holdover Big Hero 6 is also expected to remain a big draw over the weekend with families. The film has already reached $198 million domestically.

image courtesy of Peter West/ACE/INFphoto.com