tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76324792098096740262024-03-12T16:17:23.281-07:00Cinema GeekMichael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-41226048187869699422017-09-02T12:55:00.001-07:002017-09-02T12:55:20.177-07:00Summer 2017: How Did the Movies Do?
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The summer of 2017 was interesting to say the least. It saw audiences flock to all three
superhero films that premiered as well as several sleeper hits. However, it saw
more than its fair share of flops, underperformers, and disappointments. The
latter group is what contributed to a dismal summer that saw its returns come
down 20.7% from last year's, the largest drop recorded on Box Office Mojo's
seasonal chart, and even worse than 2014's 16.3% slide from 2013. This drop in
revenue is what's making the year overall pacing 6.2% behind 2016. In this
post, we will dive deeper into why certain films thrived, and why certain films
drowned amidst the competitive marketplace. I will start with <i>Guardians of
the Galaxy Vol. 2 </i>and end with the wide releases that opened on August 25,
the last weekend of summer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Note: Not all of the wide
releases/expansions will be analyzed. These would be <i>It Comes at Night </i>($13.9m),
<i>Megan Leavey </i>($13.2m), <i>The Beguiled </i>($10.6m), <i>Wish
Upon </i>($14.1m), <i>The Glass Castle </i>($13.3m), <i>All Saints </i>($2.2m),
<i>Good Time </i>($1.3m), and <i>Ingrid Goes West </i>($1.3m).</span></div>
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<a href="https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/k8/71/2p/qo/guardians-galaxy-vol-2-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=b063813488" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/k8/71/2p/qo/guardians-galaxy-vol-2-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=b063813488" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (May
5)</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $200 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $389.4 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $862.9 million</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"> continued the annual tradition of having an Marvel movie
kick off the summer, and it did just that with spectacular fashion. It opened
with a better-than-expected $146.5 million, making it the biggest
film-to-film increase between original and sequel in the MCU. Though critical
reception was a bit less enthusiastic than the first (82% on Rotten
Tomatoes compared to the first's 91%), fan reception was nearly identical,
allowing <i>Guardians </i>to become the second-leggiest sequel in the entire
series, with a 2.66x opening-to-total multiplier. It was the top film of the
summer two-and-a-half months before <i>Wonder Woman </i>dethroned it, but it
still did very well considering the competition and "sequelitis"
effect. This film's performance along with <i>Spider-Man</i>'s goes to show
that audiences are far from tired of big-budget Marvel films being churned out
two to three times a year.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
(May 12)</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $175 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $39.2 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $146.2 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">So many things went wrong for this
one. First off, it was plagued by post-production troubles and reshoots,
resulting in multiple delays for its release. Second, it went way over-budget,
costing as much as a regular superhero film would instead of having a more
reasonable price tag for a medieval action film. It also didn't help that it
had no surefire stars or decent reviews (28%). It opened to a paltry $15.4
million, and didn't last much longer after that. Even if <i>Guardians </i>or <i>Alien:
Covenant </i>(which was a disappointment as well) had opened in different
months, <i>King Arthur </i>was still destined to be a huge flop. It's just that
no one expected it to be this huge of a flop.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Snatched (May 12)</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $42 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $45.9 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $60.5 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Considering that reaction to the
trailers were toxic and people are getting tired of Amy Schumer's shtick, it's
a bit of a miracle that the film managed to get close to $50 million domestic.
Normally, an R-rated comedy featuring the return of Goldie Hawn opening in the month
of May should do splendid business. But lackluster reviews, a competitive
marketplace, and a general disinterest among audiences kept it from really
breaking out. It opened decently ($19.5m) thanks to Mother's Day, but it
crashed and burned after that and barely passed its budget domestically.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Alien: Covenant (May 19)</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $97 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $74.3 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $233.1 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">With Ridley Scott directing another
entry in the classic <i>Alien </i>franchise and the anticipation of seeing a
follow-up to the very vague <i>Prometheus</i>, <i>Covenant </i>should have done
a lot better than this. However, critical reactions didn't really improve upon <i>Prometheus</i>'s
already mixed reception, and audiences for the most part weren't really
impressed with what they saw. It opened to $36.2 million, with some hope that
it could somehow have so-so legs in the long run. Instead, it played like a
typical gory horror film and barely doubled its opening weekend. Overseas
barely saved the day, but even that was a big comedown from its predecessor.
Its middling performance at the box office and divided reception is causing
20th Century Fox to reassess the future of the franchise.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul
(May 19)</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $22 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $20.7 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $39.9 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The first three <i>Diary of a Wimpy
Kids </i>films made some decent cash, with the lowest gross being $49 million
from the third movie. The fourth film's prospects didn't look very appealing
from the start, but it should've at least retained a sizable portion of the
previous films, right? Wrong. It opened with less than half of its predecessor,
and its total gross failed to match the opening weekends of the first two.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Everything, Everything (May 19)</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $10 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $34.1 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $55.0 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">This micro-budget, lightly marketed
YA adaptation was arguably the summer's first true sleeper hit. It was widely
expected to open with under $10 million, but ended up with a debut close to $12
million and legged it to a solid $34.1 million total. Not to mention it did
decent business overseas as well.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Baywatch (May 25)</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $69 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $58.1 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $177.7 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">A raunchy R-rated comedy starring
Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron that happens to be based on one of the most
popular TV shows from the 90's should have been a qualified hit. And it
probably would have been, if it had been any good. Though it had a headstart by
opening on a Thursday and the extended Memorial Day weekend, <i>Baywatch </i>still
made less in its first five days than what it was expected to make over its
three day weekend. Reviews were probably the ultimate culprit, though; it
currently boasts a horrible 19% on RT, and it had even worse scores of 13%-15%
during opening weekend. The films appeal to overseas audiences thanks to
Johnson and the source material allowed it to clear the red, but it was still a
huge disappointment all around. After <i>Snatched </i>and <i>Baywatch </i>underperformed,
experts started realizing that no matter who stars in what, R-rated comedies
are starting to lose their touch with audiences.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men
Tell No Tales (May 26)</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $230 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $172.1 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $791.8 million</span></div>
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<a href="https://images.moviepilot.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_470,q_auto:good,w_620/xunrnfotma7lytc0ahxj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="620" height="242" src="https://images.moviepilot.com/image/upload/c_fill,h_470,q_auto:good,w_620/xunrnfotma7lytc0ahxj.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Pirates </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">was the second ocean-themed star-studded action film opening
on Memorial Day weekend to get beached at the box office (domestically). A
comedown was expected as it was the fifth film in a decade-old franchise, and
after the second film put up huge numbers every installment after that
decreased domestically. Just as <i>On Stranger Tides </i>became the first <i>Pirates
</i>to not cross $300 million domestic, this film became the first in the
franchise to not cross $200 million domestic. Opening to $63 million for the
three-day weekend and $78.5 million after the four-day, it managed to have
decent legs considering the overly competitive marketplace. However, overseas
was a different story. Although it didn't outgross the last three films
overseas or worldwide, <i>Pirates </i>still did very well business, opening
with a whopping $208.8 million and finishing with $620 million total for a
worldwide cume of $792 million, allowing to become the fourth biggest film of
the summer worldwide.</span></div>
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Captain Underpants: The First Epic
Movie</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $38 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $73.5 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $101.1 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">If the film cost the standard $125
million to $150 million DreamWorks films usually cost, this would have been a
huge flop. Thankfully, and a bit unexpectedly, it cost just under $40 million
to go along with a light marketing effort. Solid reviews likely kept it from
falling off significantly after opening with $23.9 million, although it still
ended up under many analyst's predictions. It wasn't too hot overseas
unfortunately, with less than $30 million total, but post-theatrical revenue
should make this into a mild success.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Wonder Woman</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $149 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $407.0 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $807.0 million</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_0365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="770" height="179" src="https://www.themarysue.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IMG_0365.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Here is the biggest success story of
the summer, if no the entire year (so far). Many were concerned that its nature
as a female-directed, female-starring big-budget superhero feature being
released in the heart of summer would hold back its potential. It also didn't
help that the DCEU that the film is a part of has garnered mixed-to-negative
reception from critics, and polarizing reactions from fans. However, this film
changed everything. Not only did <i>Wonder Woman </i>become the most acclaimed
DC film since <i>The Dark Knight</i>, but it defied conventional wisdom both on
opening weekend and in the long run. It beat its projection of $70 million to
$85 million with an $103.3 million opening weekend. But how it performed after
its debut was what was truly astonishing. It second weekend drop was only
43.3%, and to date it remains its largest weekend-to-weekend drop. It held up
very well week after week, especially for a superhero film that didn't open in
the middle of the week like <i>Spider-Man 2 </i>or <i>Batman Begins</i>. After
overtaking <i>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 </i>as the summer box office
champion, it went on to experience more great holds and eventually crossed the
magical $400 million milestone. Its positive reception and terrific box office
are good fortune for the upcoming <i>Justice League </i>film in November, and
for the sequel debuting in a few years.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The Mummy</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $125 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $80.1 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $407.8 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">What a disaster. If this film was
going to start an entire cinematic universe, it should have at least been of
decent quality. The fact that many viewers though it wasn't, though, probably
contributed to its underperformance more than anything else. <i>The Mummy </i>also
suffered from audiences not wanting a reboot of the Brendan Fraser series, a
marketplace that featured the newly released <i>Wonder Woman</i>, and star Tom
Cruise's fading starpower. Its status as the first film in Universal's planned
Dark Universe franchise felt rushed and came off as a way to give the movie
publicity and awareness. Its 16% RT rating is probably what affected it the
most, however. This film is only one of various victims of the rating system
Rotten Tomatoes operates, and many analysts have pointed out that more and more
audiences are more reliant on the aggregator site now than they have been
before. This has actually drawn the website criticism, but had <i>The Mummy </i>actually
been good, it probably wouldn't have been such a disaster stateside. Overseas
saved the day, as it does in a lot of cases, with a solid $327.7 million, more
than what any of the other <i>Mummy </i>films have made.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">47 Meters Down</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $5.5 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $43.8 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">It seems that shark-themed thrillers
are making a bit of a comeback. Just last year, <i>The Shallows </i>opened in
late June to an excellent $16.8 million and leveraged good reviews and solid
word-of-mouth to leg it to $55.1 million. This year, <i>47 Meters Down </i>was
the shark movie to terrorize audiences in the summer. The astonishingly cheap
title was originally titled <i>In the Deep </i>and was supposed to go
straight-to-DVD, but Entertainment Studios opted to give it a theatrical
release after picking it up. The film didn't enjoy the strong reviews or
audience buzz that <i>The Shallows </i>did, but still doubled projections and
nearly quadrupled its opening weekend of $11.2 million, which is pretty
impressive considering its weak reception and immense competition. Next year
sees <i>Meg </i>take a bite out of the box office in August, and should draw in
fans of the book and these last two films to churn up decent numbers.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">All Eyez on Me</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $40 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $44.9 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Released on Tupac's birthday and
coming off of the roaring success of <i>Straight Outta Compton </i>($161.2m),
the biopic <i>All Eyez on Me </i>was expected to do solid business in the
middle of June. And for one weekend, it did. It opened to a
much-better-than-expected $26.4 million, with a substantial amount of it coming
from Friday (Tupac's birthday). Unfortunately, it lacked great reviews and
received mixed word-of-mouth, and ended up becoming one of the most
front-loaded wide releases of all time. Never once did it drop less than 66.8%
weekend-to-weekend during its time in theaters (save for its last weekend when
it added 32 theaters).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Cars 3</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $175 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $149.1 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $325.4 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Cars 3 </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">was always going to be one Pixar's lowest-grossing entries.
The <i>Cars </i>series is held with the least critical regard, with the lcast
film being the first (and only) Pixar film to get a "Rotten" score on
RT. It also didn't help that <i>Captain Underpants </i>stole a bit of thunder
the week before and <i>Despicable Me 3 </i>would steal away audiences at the
end of the month. However, <i>Cars 3 </i>did even more disappointingly than
expected. It opened with a so-so $53.7 million, which is the fourth-lowest
Pixar opening ever. The competitive marketplace and general lack of interest
proved too much though, and ended up with the worst legs ever for a film from
the animation powerhouse (36.0%, compared to <i>Cars 2</i>'s 34.5%). It's not
doing too well overseas as well ($176.2m compared to <i>Cars 2</i>'s $370.7m),
proving that this franchise has finally run out of gas.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Rough Night</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $20 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $22.1 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $46.3 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Though it boasted a solid cast led
by Scarlett Johansson, <i>Rough Night </i>couldn't escape the trend of failing
R-rated comedies this summer. The film couldn't barely passed $8 million on
opening weekend, and didn't post amazing legs (36.2%). There's not much to say
here except that as long as your comedy isn't funny, it's not going to do very
well (especially in this day and age).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Transformers: The Last Knight</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $217 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $130.2 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $604.1 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">This is arguably the most
disappointing release from the month of June, and is definitely one of the
biggest of the summer. The franchise has been in domestic decline ever since
the third film, but they at least did solid business stateside and extremely
well overseas. Unfortunately, a shorter run time, darker tone, and reiteration
of Earth's history wasn't enough to convince audiences why they should waste
more money on these low-quality explosion-fests, which tend to be critic-proof.
Viewers weren't falling for it anymore, and the film found itself with a
five-day opening weekend barely totaling more than the second film's opening
day (on a Wednesday, as well). It managed to save some face overseas, but
even then it still experienced a big comedown. It totaled $473.9
million, which is way down from the $771.4 million from the third film and
the whopping $858.6 million from the fourth. The film was intended to expand
the franchise's potential for a cinematic universe, with its first spin-off <i>Bumblebee
</i>debuting December of 2018. With a change of director (finally) after
Michael Bay helmed all the previous installments, one can only hope that it
puts the franchise back on its tracks.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The Big Sick</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $5 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $39.6 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $47.9 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The highest-rated film of the summer
(98%) on Rotten Tomatoes, <i>The Big Sick </i>not only captured the heart of
critics but those of audiences, allowing it to score the biggest per-theater
average of the year ($84.3k per theater from 5 theaters). It continued to post
excellent PTAs for the next two weeks in which it slowly expanded. It did come
in a bit below expectations when it expanded nationwide with $7.6 million
($2.9k PTA from 2,597 theaters), but it managed to hang around for a while and
will likely cross $40 million domestically sometime soon, making it only the
second Amazon Studios distributed film after 2016's <i>Manchester by the Sea </i>($47.7m).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Baby Driver</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $34 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $104.1 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $194.1 million</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/i8/h2/et/9l/baby-driver-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=074a673576" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://a.ltrbxd.com/resized/sm/upload/i8/h2/et/9l/baby-driver-1200-1200-675-675-crop-000000.jpg?k=074a673576" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">One of the most successful sleeper
hits of the summer is obviously <i>Baby Driver</i>. The music-filled action
caper serves as solid proof that original properties can work as long as it's
good. And man, was it good. Critics gave it a 94% rating on RT, one of the
highest of the summer, and audiences reflected those positive views for the
most part. It also helped that director Edgar Wright has a very loyal fanbase
and that his four previous films are genre favorites. What resulted was a $20.6
million three-day opening weekend and $29.6 million five-day (it opened on
Wednesday), and became one of the leggiest Independence Day openers in recent
memory. Hopefully the sequel, planned to be directed by Wright, lives up to the
soaring heights of the original.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Despicable Me 3</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $80 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $255.5 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $975.9 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Though it came down significantly
from <i>Despicable Me 2 </i>and <i>Minions</i>, and will probably sell fewer
tickets than the original, the threequel still did excellent business, both
domestically and (especially) internationally. With a very competitive July
following its release and the looming prospect of franchise fatigue finally
settling in on the immensely popular franchise, <i>Despicable Me 3</i> had a
lot to live up to. It received mixed reviews from critics and even more
polarized reception from audiences, but it benefited from a lack of animated
breakouts and opened to a solid, if not spectacular, $72.4 million. It scored
decent legs in the midst of an uber-competitive summer, but overseas is the
real story here. Its $720.3 million international total is the best in the main
series and is behind only the $823.4 million total of <i>Minions </i>(which was
a sort of anomaly). If it sticks in theaters for a little longer, it has a very
slight chance at crossing the magical $1 billion mark. Even if it doesn't, it's
perfectly fine for the relatively cheap animated sequel.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The House</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $40 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $25.6 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $33.4 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Wow. This is pretty embarrassing.
There was some hope that Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler could change around the
fortune for R-rated comedies this summer, and it had a decent premise. Unfortunately,
scathing reviews (below 20% on RT) severely limited its potential, and it ended
up making back only 64% of its budget domestically.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Spider-Man: Homecoming</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $175 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $320.4 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $738.5 million</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">There were worries that the film's
nature as the fifth film in a constantly rebooted franchise and a competitive
July release slate would hold back its potential. Some even projected an
opening under $100 million. Its connection to the MCU and overwhelmingly
positive reception made it end up debuting with an, ahem, amazing $117 million
domestic and $256.5 million worldwide. Many analysts' hopes that it would cross
$300 million total were shattered, however, when it took a 62.2% nosedive in
its second weekend (the worst for an MCU film). It stabilized very nicely
afterwards, though, never dropping 50% since as one of top second-choice films
for the rest of the summer. It now looks as if it could top $330 million total,
possibly making a run for the $333.4 million total of 2014's surprise smash <i>Guardians
of the Galaxy</i>. Worldwide it's slightly lagging behind several past
installments in the <i>Spider-Man </i>series, but will soon pass <i>The Amazing
Spider-Man </i>($757.9m) without even opening in China. When it does open in
the Middle Kingdom, however, expect it to come close to, if not over, $850
million worldwide (which would put it behind only <i>Spider-Man 3</i>'s
$890.9m).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">War for the Planet of the Apes</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $150 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $143.1 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $359.5 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Unfortunately, it wasn't always the
bad movies that underperformed. Despite several weeks of growing buzz due to
massive critical acclaim, the third and final film in the rebooted <i>Planet of
the Apes </i>trilogy failed to leverage the goodwill of the last film and
turned out to be a huge disappointment domestically. Its $56.3 million opening
was barely past the $54.8 million the first film made in 2011. Its good reviews
and strong word-of-mouth did little to help its legs afterward, and will likely
fail to pass up its $150 million budget stateside. Fortunately, overseas
grosses allowed it to barely skate by, with a decent $216.3 million so far.
Still, that's less than half of <i>Dawn of the Planet of the Apes</i>'s $502.1
million ($710.6m global). Maybe it's a good thing this trilogy is over, as it
doesn't look like it could survive much longer after this.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Dunkirk</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $100 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $174.6 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $414.7 million</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://resizing.flixster.com/YCApJsFwN6_edpIF_UnbQaTTcEM=/300x300/v1.aDsxMzcyMTE7ajsxNzQxNjsxMjAwOzYwMDA7NDAwMA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" src="https://resizing.flixster.com/YCApJsFwN6_edpIF_UnbQaTTcEM=/300x300/v1.aDsxMzcyMTE7ajsxNzQxNjsxMjAwOzYwMDA7NDAwMA" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The last time a WWII movie was this
successful was when the critically-trashed, Michael Bay directed <i>Pearl
Harbor </i>opened with $59.1 million and finished with $198.5 million, making
it the second highest-grossing film based on the war behind <i>Saving Private
Ryan </i>($216.5m). Now, it looks as if the Christopher Nolan directed <i>Dunkirk
</i>will pass the former with a $200m+ domestic haul, and if it gets serious
awards buzz and a big re-release during awards season, it has a slight chance
of passing up the latter as well. It doesn't only reinforce the notion that
Nolan is one of the best and most consistently successful directors today, but
it proves that the genre still resonates with audiences today. It scored a
great 93% score from critics and was hailed as one of the best (if not <i>the </i>best)
war films of all time, and that along with Nolan's loyal fanbase propelled <i>Dunkirk
</i>to $50.5 million on opening weekend. It wasn't done there however, as it
used its strong buzz and amazing word-of-mouth to become one of the leggiest
films of the summer. Worldwide, it has yet to cross $500 million and will
likely end up as Nolan's second lowest grossing blockbuster (ahead of <i>Batman
Begins</i>), but for an adult-oriented WWII film in the midst of an extremely
competitive summer, it did fantastic business.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Girls Trip</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $19 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $109.3 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $121.4 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">What a relief it is. The only
well-reviewed comedy this summer was also the only one to do huge business (and
actually break even). Starring a solid cast with Jada Pinkett-Smith, Queen
Latifah, and Regina Hall, it appealed primarily to African-American women (a
very underserved demographic) and found great success. It boasts a strong 89%
on Rotten Tomatoes and received a very positive reaction from audiences. Its
solid reception as well as a lack of comedy breakouts all added up to an
overperforming hit. It opened with $31.2 million, more than <i>Bad Moms </i>last
year, and though it will have much weaker legs it is still looking at an
amazing $115m+ total.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Valerian and the City of a Thousand
Planets</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $180 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $39.8 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $172.8 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Aside from <i>King Arthur</i>, this
would be the biggest flop of the summer. Its prospects didn't look great to
begin with, as it didn't have an all-star cast, it was adapted from a foreign
property, and there generally wasn't much hype outside fans of the French comic
series. Living up to its title as the most expensive French production ever
made, the film was directed by Luc Besson (<i>Lucy</i>, <i>The Fifth Element</i>).
Its marketing wasn't really clear on what the story was about other than a
whimsical sci-fi adventure along the lines of <i>Star Wars </i>or <i>Star Trek</i>.
Unfortunately, it ended up becoming a huge dud with less than $40 million
total, much worse than sci-fi mega-bombs <i>Battleship </i>and <i>John Carter</i>.
Overseas ticket sales won't save this one like they did for so many other
films, as it has grossed an unimpressive $133 million internationally so far. </span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Atomic Blonde</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $30 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $49.5 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $81.4 million</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">After the roaring success of <i>Wonder
Woman </i>at the beginning of June, many thought that <i>Atomic Blonde </i>would
follow suit as a hugely successful female-led action pic. The trailers promised
a stylish and action-packed thriller in vain of the <i>John Wick </i>films, in
which the second one did big business earlier this year. It ended up debuting
with $18.3 million, which was a bit below expectations, but thanks to its low
production budget it was still a hit. It surpassed the first <i>Wick </i>domestically
and will soon pass it worldwide, although hopes for a franchise might have been
diminished.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The Emoji Movie</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $50 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $77.9 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $145.8 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The trailers were viciously mocked
and achieved face-palming levels of cringe. It has an atrocious 8% on Rotten
Tomatoes. There was virtually no (positive) buzz for the film. So how did it
end up becoming a moneymaker? There really aren't any good answers to this
question except that <i>Despicable Me 3 </i>was starting to fade away and the
horribleness of the premise and the film itself made a sort of must-see film.
It opened with a decent $24.5 million and had good legs, tripling its opening
weekend. It doesn't have much life anymore, but at least Sony can add another
hit (this time undeserved) to their 2017 release slate.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Detroit</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $34 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $16.3 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The film received good reviews
before release, and was from the director of <i>The Hurt Locker </i>and <i>Zero
Dark Thirty</i>. It enjoyed a good-not-great $350.2k limited debut ($17.5k
PTA), but it collapsed in its expansion ($7.1m for $2.4k PTA). The grim subject
matter, lack of awards buzz, and overall competition probably took a huge toll
on the film's performance, and won't even match <i>The Hurt Locker </i>despite
having a bigger opening.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The Dark Tower</span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $60 million</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $45.8 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $89.3 million</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GO8Btnmt-76f9c2kER2m49Irb1w=/0x0:960x480/1200x800/filters:focal(404x164:556x316)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54601735/The_Dark_Tower.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="133" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GO8Btnmt-76f9c2kER2m49Irb1w=/0x0:960x480/1200x800/filters:focal(404x164:556x316)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/54601735/The_Dark_Tower.0.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Just like <i>The Mummy</i>, <i>The
Dark Tower </i>was meant to kick start a whole cinematic universe, including a
TV show. Unfortunately, just like <i>The Mummy</i>, it was DOA on opening
weekend. It grossed an underwhelming $19.2 million, and with scathing reviews
it wasn't likely it would have good legs. It isn't catching fire overseas
either, and now even the TV show's prospects are looking dire.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Kidnap</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $21 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $27.7 million</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">This was a nice little surprise at
the beginning of what would become a terrible August. The Halle Berry thriller
was expected to open in the single-digits but eked out $10 million, and held up
decently throughout the month. It's definitely no <i>Taken </i>or even <i>The
Call</i>, but it did just fine nonetheless.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Annabelle: Creation</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $15 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $81.7 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $220.3 million</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Due to its nature as a prequel to an
already negatively-reviewed prequel to an acclaimed period horror whose 2016
sequel experienced a bit of a comedown, <i>Annabelle: Creation </i>was a bit of
a wildcard, especially given how most sequels perform nowadays. Instead, it
beat expectations by improving significantly in quality from its predecessor
and debuted to $35 million, a little less than the first <i>Annabelle</i>. It's
been experiencing so-so holds for a horror movie, and has a very outside chance
of totaling $100 million domestically. It's doing splendid overseas as well,
with nearly $140 million so far, proving that overseas audiences have yet to
tire of the horror franchise.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $40 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $23.8 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $26.7 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">One of the films to blame for a
terrible August is definitely <i>The Nut Job 2</i>. Not only did it have the
worst opening for a film debuting in over 4,000 theaters ($8.3m), but it didn't
even match the first's opening weekend until 23 days into release. This is
another miss for distributor Open Road Films, who is in dire need of a hit
right about now.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The Hitman's Bodyguard</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $30 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $58 million (Prediction)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://resizing.flixster.com/hp-9tsEr1xSkM_56YbH1_5zyXwE=/300x300/v1.bjsxNjUwNTM1O2o7MTc0Nzk7MTIwMDs0ODY2OzMwMTA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://resizing.flixster.com/hp-9tsEr1xSkM_56YbH1_5zyXwE=/300x300/v1.bjsxNjUwNTM1O2o7MTc0Nzk7MTIwMDs0ODY2OzMwMTA" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The month of August wasn't all bad
though (hard to believe, but it's true). It just happened that an R-rated
action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson trumped negative
reviews to become another success for distributor Lionsgate, who's having a
stellar year so far (apart from <i>Power Rangers </i>and <i>The Glass Castle</i>).
It will be the first film to three-peat at number one since <i>The Fate of the
Furious </i>back in April, as it is taking advantage of a dire late summer.
Expect this one to finish above/below $60 million total.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Logan Lucky</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $29 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $24 million (Prediction)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $20.2 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Unfortunately, it seems that Steven
Soderbergh's return from retirement didn't go off with a bang like it should
have. Its unique marketing strategy was 100% in Soderbergh's control, a move
that has never been done before. It didn't help much though, as it failed to
hit $8 million on opening weekend and isn't having very spectacular holds.
Hopefully the director's next venture is more successful.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Birth of the Dragon</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $5.3 million (Prediction)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">These last two releases opened with
a whimper, so not much time will be spent on them. Honestly, this film didn't
have much going for it anyway, with a minimal marketing campaign, no stars, and
controversy over making a Bruce Lee story centered around a fictional white
character. What resulted was a sub-$3 million opening and a total that will
likely fail to make much more than $5 million.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Leap!</span></u></b></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Budget: $30 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Domestic: $18 million (Prediction)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Worldwide: $89.6 million</span></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Its domestic prospects were always
in doubt, as it was delayed multiple times and came across as a cheap animated
cash grab. It opened with less than $5 million, and even with Labor
Day $20 million may be a stretch at this point. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 8px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 13px;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-82402521293540511672017-07-23T13:53:00.000-07:002017-07-23T13:53:58.301-07:00'Dunkirk' and 'Girls Trip' Break Out, 'Valerian' Implodes, and 'Wonder Woman' Becomes Summer Box Office Champion With <i>Dunkirk</i> opening very strongly and <i>Wonder Woman</i> once again posting excellent holds, distributor Warner Bros. has officially crossed the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office for this year, following Disney and Universal. Speaking of Universal, their R-rated comedy <i>Girls Trip </i>opened well above expectations and broke the streak of R-rated comedy failures that started this summer. Meanwhile, STX's sci-fi extravaganza <i>Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets </i>is shaping up to be one of the biggest bombs of the year, at least in North America.<br />
In first place, Christopher Nolan's WWII action thriller <i>Dunkirk</i>, which cost around $100 million to make, opened to $50.5 million, well above the $35 million to $40 million it was projected to make. This is a very strong start considering it opened in a very crowded marketplace, and that adult-targeting dramas in the summer typically don't do very well. It opened above Nolan's last film, 2014's <i>Interstellar</i> ($47.5m), although the latter narrowly beats it adjusted for inflation. It started 19.6% below <i>Inception</i>'s $62.8 million start back in 2010, but that film had more star power and sci-fi thrills than <i>Dunkirk</i>. It made approximately $11.7 million in IMAX alone from 402 sites, making for a sturdy average of $29k. Among World War II themed films, it has the third highest opening behind only <i>Captain America: The First Avenger </i>($65.1m) and <i>Pearl Harbor </i>($59.1m). It more than tripled the recent opening of <i>Hacksaw Ridge </i>($15.2m) and more than doubled the openings of <i>Fury </i>($23.7m), <i>The Monuments Men </i>($22m), and <i>Valkyrie </i>($21m). With strong reviews (92% on Rotten Tomatoes) and solid word-of-mouth (84% on Flixter), it should be able to hold its own against a slew of competition in the coming weeks, which will feature the likes of <i>Atomic Blonde</i>, <i>The Dark Tower</i>, and <i>Annabelle: Creation</i>, to name a few. If it plays like <i>Interstellar</i>, it gets to $200 million domestic. If it plays like any of Nolan's Batman films, it finishes anywhere from $140 million to $215 million. A multiple like <i>Fury </i>or <i>The Monuments Men </i>translates to around $180 million total. Any of those numbers would be rock solid, but it's most likely to finish with at least $175 million when all is said and done.<a class="irc_mil i3597 i0YQrjxbSnGQ-zixyDjKkw5M" data-ctbtn="2" data-cthref="/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwik-dKvpKDVAhVBxGMKHTpwBs4QjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.themarysue.com%2Fdunkirk-reviews%2F&psig=AFQjCNFSHO1uFmj5T-jSUwePBTmOC4r0Ig&ust=1500929430622151" data-noload="" data-ved="0ahUKEwik-dKvpKDVAhVBxGMKHTpwBs4QjRwIBw" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwik-dKvpKDVAhVBxGMKHTpwBs4QjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.themarysue.com%2Fdunkirk-reviews%2F&psig=AFQjCNFSHO1uFmj5T-jSUwePBTmOC4r0Ig&ust=1500929430622151" jsaction="mousedown:irc.rl;keydown:irc.rlk" rel="noopener" tabindex="0" target="_blank"><img alt="Image result for dunkirk" class="irc_mi" height="440" src="https://am24.akamaized.net/tms/cnt/uploads/2017/07/maxresdefault-2-1.jpg" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="782" /></a><br />
Second place belongs to the $19-million R-rated comedy <i>Girls Trip</i>, which brought in a surprising $30.4 million from 2,591 locations. Not only is it director Malcolm D. Lee's biggest opener, but it broke the recent losing streak of R-rated comedies this year. It began in the middle of May when <i>Snatched </i>opened with a decent $19.5 million but collapsed in the following weeks, topping out at just $45.8 million. The next underperformer was the Memorial Day release <i>Baywatch</i>, whose awful reviews overcame a powerful cast and ultimately made it open to $18.5 million and finish with only $58 million total. June releases <i>Rough Night </i>and <i>The House </i>both failed to open over $10 million, and the latter will likely barely pass $25 million total. However, <i>Girls Trip </i>triumphed over all of them simply because of two things: a relatable premise and good reviews. First off, one factor important to a comedy's success is its ability to be relatable to the audience. Moviegoers likely haven't been kidnapped in South America or accidentally killed a male stripper or build an illegal casino under their house, but they probably have went on or at least seen others take part in a crazy week of antics and bad behavior, which is exactly what happens in <i>Girls Trip</i>. It also helped that this film has an outstanding score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, while none of the others could top 50%.<br />
Its opening weekend is obviously a success, but the real question now is if it can hold up any better than the previous comedies. If it scores similar multiples as those, it will finish anywhere from $70 million to $95 million. If it plays like some of the director's previous films, it has a range of $68 million to $81 million. Either way, this is a win for all involved and gives hope to R-rated comedies that are of actual quality.<br />
Third and fourth belonged to two former weekend champions. <i>Spider-Man: Homecoming </i>slightly softened last weekend's hard blow with a $22 million third weekend, down 50.2% from last weekend's harsh 60%+ drop. Its total now stands at $251.7 million, and should pass <i>The Amazing Spider-Man </i>($262m) some time next week. Expect a final total of around $275 million, although if holds up well in subsequent weeks it could make a run for $300 million, however unlikely.<br />
Following was last weekend's winner, <i>War for the Planet of the Apes</i>. Unfortunately, it suffered the same fate as <i>Spider-Man</i>, dropping a whopping 63.7% for a mild $20.4 million second weekend. Despite ecstatic reviews and solid word-of-mouth, it seems that the trilogy capper just isn't connecting with audiences, and so far has grossed an underwhelming $97.8 million for a possible final cume of under $150 million. Apparently not even the best of the franchises can survive fatigue this summer.<br />
Rounding out the Top 5, is the weekend's last new nationwide opener, the $209-million Luc Besson directed sci-fi epic <i>Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets</i>, which bombed hard with only $17.02 million. It's way behind the $43.9 million start of <i>Lucy</i>, and is just a hair behind the director's <i>The Fifth Element </i>($17.03m). However, the latter opened all the way back in 1997, so attendance for this film was significantly behind that one. It started in between big-budget 2017 duds <i>King Arthur: Legend of the Sword </i>($15.4m) and <i>The Great Wall </i>($18.5m), and was well behind 2012's <i>John Carter </i>($30.2m) and <i>Battleship </i>($25.5m). Blame the middling reviews (54% on RT), overstuffed marketplace, and general uninterest and unfamiliarity among audiences. Its source material is French, and although it should do massive business there, it just didn't click here. Expect a total of less than $45 million, which would be very disappointing.<br />
From spots 6 to 9, none of the films dropped below 35%. In sixth was <i>Despicable Me 3</i>, which dropped 34.3% and added $12.7 million for a $213.3 million total. $250 million should be in reach, which would make it the lowest-grossing film in the franchise but still a success due to its low production cost. In seventh place was the summer's breakout hit, <i>Baby Driver</i>, which continued to hold its own as it slipped 31.1% to gross $6 million. Its total now is $84.2 million, and could very well be on its way for a $100m+ finish. Eighth place was occupied by another breakout, <i>The Big Sick</i>, which took advantage of glowing reviews and word-of-mouth and dropped 33.9% from its nationwide expansion for a $5 million weekend and a $24.5 million total. Expect $35 million or more for the rom-com.<br />
Finally, in ninth place is the summer's new box office champion, <i>Wonder Woman</i>. The $149-million period action film starring Gal Gadot dropped just 31.9% in its eighth weekend for $4.6 million. It has now grossed $389 million total, putting it ahead of <i>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 </i>($387.2m) as the biggest film of the summer. After opening with a stunning $103.3 million, it surprised even more by experiencing especially strong holds, which is rare for a superhero film. Never dropping more than 50%, the female-directed superhero film rode a wave of hot buzz and strong reviews to change the game for the DC Extended Universe, and is now on pace to become the biggest origin story film ever in the superhero genre, possibly passing up <i>Spider-Man </i>($403.7m in 2002). $400 million is essentially a guarantee at this point, which is outstanding and groundbreaking for the genre. <br />
The Top 12 grossed $174.2 million total this weekend, up 10.2% from last week and a solid 12.1% from the same weekend last year when <i>The Secret Life of Pets </i>continued its reign against the unpopular reboot of <i>Ghostbusters</i>.<i></i>Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-50754577684038044162016-07-29T17:43:00.002-07:002016-07-29T17:43:48.292-07:00Review: 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/20/Batman_v_Superman_poster.jpg/220px-Batman_v_Superman_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/20/Batman_v_Superman_poster.jpg/220px-Batman_v_Superman_poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!</span></div>
The much talked-about superhero smackdown 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' just made it into home media a short while ago. After watching it, I found that the film was a lot less entertaining than its premise would suggest.<br />
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First off, the character development was very thin in this film. Character development is an important aspect to pretty much every movie's script, even if it is a sequel to a film that has already established the characters. Depending on the way it is written, it can come across as solid and help the viewer understand the motives and backstory of the character, or it can be thin and unsubstantial that fails to show audiences why they should care for the character. Unfortunately, 'BvS''s character development falls more in line with the latter version. For example, the motives for the film's baddie Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) are muddled and unclear, and his overall demeanor come across as cartoonish and cringeworthy. His entire plan is confusing and nonsensical, which makes watching all the more frustrating. Even Wonder Woman's (Gal Gadot) presence was a bit underwhelming. Lesser newcomers such as Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons) and Senator Finch (Holly Hunter) also fail to spark interest as they seem to be there just to provide exposition or motivation or advance the plot. Because of these missteps, most of the new characters are uninteresting and unlikable (save for Wonder Woman, of course). Bruce Wayne / Batman (Bruce Wayne) was developed decently, and while it could have been better it honestly could have been worse. However, the ones that were already introduced in 2013's 'Man of Steel' were just disappointingly plain and one-dimensional, and there just wasn't any chemistry between Supes and his girlfriend Lois Lane (Amy Adams). Except for Bruce, Alfred, and Wonder Woman, all the characters seem to behave like a five-year-old. Overall, the screenwriters had a lot of potential with the characters they worked with but wasted it on poorly developed characters. <br />
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Along with unimpressive character development, there are more than a few problems with the plot. It is littered from left to right with plot conveniences, ex machinas, that-guy-should-have-died-from-that-thing, you name it. For example, after the first bizarre dream sequences Bruce is seen high-tailing it to Metropolis to try to...oh wait, the film doesn't explain why he even thought of coming there in the first place. I mean, yeah, his building was right there in the line of fire, but Bruce did call of his employees to tell him and everyone else to get out of the building (which presents another problem: why hasn't everyone evacuated yet when there's a giant spaceship wrecking the city?), so he could have just called him from his mansion or somewhere actually safe. However, if he did have a good reason to go there he still should have got killed when that fighter jet crashed and burned on the street inches away from his car. Even more confusing is when he pulls up into he a huge crowd of people standing in the street and watching the destruction instead of, oh, I don't know, running for their lives! They eventually do, but only after a huge death cloud that came from the destroyed Wayne Enterprises building races towards them. And then, after walking through the smoke, walking by a horse (?), and saving a little girl from falling debris, he begins to grow hate for Superman after he killed countless civilians. All those problems were from just the opening scene (or at least part of it). Just to name a few more so you don't have to listen to any more of my rambling (at least for this section), some other questionable moments (and believe me, there are many) include Superman flying at Doomsday with a Kryptonite spear after it weakened him when he was retrieving it from water (no need to explain that one), a jar full of Luthor's pee that wasn't confiscated before the Senator discovered it at her podium right when the room blew up and all but Superman died, the piece of Kryptonite found somewhere in the Indian Ocean that somehow wasn't chased down by the U.S. government, General Zod's body that Luthor somehow got his hands on without government permission before he asks for permission from a government official, and people suddenly caring about Superman after he died after they were all worried about him destroying the planet. Ex machinas include Wonder Woman suddenly joining the climactic fight, Superman showing up when Lois Lane is taken hostage by an African warlord, and Lois Lane preventing Batman from killing Superman even though she had no idea where they were (or was it that the two superheroes' mothers happen to share the same first name that saved the day?). To sum it all up, 'BvS' has a script that doesn't do a lot of justice to its source material, with overused plot devices, ex machinas, and cliches. It isn't the worst script out there, but it definitely isn't the best.<br />
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Ben_Affleck_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Ben_Affleck_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg" width="210" /></a> The acting in the film is probably one of the only upsides to watching it. 'BvS' stars Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne / Batman, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent / Kal-El / Superman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, and Holly Hunter as Senator Finch. I'd say that Affleck, Gadot, and Irons were the strongest performers in the entire film (even though Gadot had very little screen time). Affleck delivered the expected seriousness to the Batman character while still making it fun to watch after various actors took the mantle. Gadot showed a lot of promise in her role as Wonder Woman, and with a full-time role in her own solo film next March she will definitely have the chance to break out even further. Irons, as small as a role he had, continued the respectable and likable line of portrayals of the famous butler and servant to the Caped Crusader. Irons successfully portrayed the wise, helpful man and his performance alone is enough to give the film a bit of respect. Cavill was still decent as Superman; he didn't get better from 'Man of Steel' but he certainly didn't get worse from it. Same for Adams, who didn't deliver anything particularly special to the film but also didn't really make the character unlikable (the screenwriters did that). Hunter was actually pretty good in her role as a senator, though unfortunately we won't be seeing her in any future films. Eisenberg's performance is what really bugged me. The actual actor is pretty good in other films, but he just didn't fit this role. Lex Luthor is supposed to be a smart, cunning, unpredictable man who imposes an intimidating image. Eisenberg's version is smart and arguably unpredictable, but he lacks the kind of impact and intimidation the character should have. It also didn't help that this Lex Luthor acted more like a weird, cartoon-like Joker than the actual businessman/scientist Lex is in the comics. The acting in 'BvS' is one of the film's strongest attributes, even if some of the actors fail to impress with their roles.<br />
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Batmobile_(Batman_v_Superman_-Dawn_of_Justice).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Batmobile_(Batman_v_Superman_-Dawn_of_Justice).jpg" /></a> Finally, I'm going to talk about the visuals and action sequences: what this movie is mostly about (except for setting up the 'Justice League' film). Some of the special effects look pretty cool, but most of the time the CGI coupled with the messy sound mixing/editing make the action scenes loud, noisy, and pointless. I have to admit that the Batmobile chase scene and the Batman-takes-down-Luthor's-thugs scene are pretty awesome to watch, though Batman actually killed several guys (what's up with that, Zack Snyder?). The other action scenes, however, are tasteless and confusing: the punches sound like someone's hitting a cardboard box, the CGI either looks obviously animated or that it came from a video game, and the sequences have no impact at all. The climactic battle was a huge mess filled with unimpressive visuals and noisy fighting. It's hard to tell what is happening throughout the whole sequence as it all just looks like a bunch of characters fighting each other in a giant landscape of special effects. Up until Doomsday is killed (which itself was a hugely confusing finale), it's just a big mess of superheroes and a big bad living rock trying to kill everyone. But that isn't even the worst of it. The most disappointing fight scene was when the titular heroes duked it out...for a pretty short amount of time. The fight that got everyone so hyped about ended up being a huge letdown, with boring kicks and punches and jumping and charges. The two throw each other through walls and smash heads with a sink. And then, as previously mentioned, just when Batman is about to kill Superman the latter says "Save Martha" since Luthor and his thugs are holding her hostage, and Bruce yells, Lois Lane somehow finds them, Bruce yells some more, Lois explains Martha is Superman's mother's name, Bruce finds a connection (whatever it is), and they suddenly become besties because their mothers have the same name. One of the most hyped fights in cinematic history, and it all ends because the opponents' mothers' names are the same. I don't need to say anymore. So yeah, the action and special effects were definitely disappointing, and if the fights were better choreographed and visualized they wouldn't have been so boring and pointless.<br />
<a href="http://www.fatmovieguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Batman-v-Superman-Movie-Review-Image-13-640x273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.fatmovieguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Batman-v-Superman-Movie-Review-Image-13-640x273.jpg" height="136" width="320" /></a> Well, that's it. My official review of one of the most hyped films of the decade, but also one of the most disappointing (though there's a difference between being a disappointment and being one of the worst films ever made). With a strong premise and talented, hard-working cast, 'BvS' should have done much better, but instead fell victim to a rushed, forced script, thinly written character development, and stale action scenes paired with messy visuals.<br />
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<b>Character Development: C</b><br />
<b>Plot: C-</b><br />
<b>Acting: A-</b><br />
<b>Action: C-</b><br />
<b>Visuals: C+</b><br />
<b><u> </u></b><br />
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<b><u>Overall Rating: C+</u></b><br />
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Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-44890080512015455832016-07-25T15:03:00.000-07:002016-07-25T15:03:07.682-07:00Weekend Report: 'Star Trek Beyond' Warps into Top Spot, 'Lights Out' Chills Out and 'Ice Age' Freezes Up The reign of animated blockbusters is over, thanks to the big-budget franchise tentpole 'Star Trek Beyond', which easily took the top spot from 'The Secret Life of Pets', though it did come in quite a bit below its predecessors. Also opening were the micro-budget thriller 'Lights Out', which exceeded expectations, and the big-budget animated flick 'Ice Age: Collision Course', which delivered a more-than-underwhelming performance.<br />
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In first place, the $185-million sci-fi action/adventure 'Star Trek Beyond' beamed up $59.3 million for a $15.1k per-theater average, which is right in line with pre-release expectations ($45m-$65m). It is the third best debut of the franchise, behind the 2009 reboot ($75.2m) and its sequel ($70.2m), continuing the downward trend of the franchise. Among 2016 releases, it is the second best opening for a non-animated or non-comic-adapted film behind April's 'The Jungle Book'. For the summer, it is the third best live-action opening behind only 'Captain America: Civil War' ($179.1m) and 'X-Men: Apocalypse' ($65.8m), which were both comic book movies sequels. Overall, this is a pretty solid debut, as the lukewarm reception to the first trailer, the absence of the beloved J. J. Abrams in the director's chair and presence of Justin Lin, and declining grosses between installments were working against the film's favor.<br />
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Starting out with $22.3 million on Friday (including $5.5m from Thursday), 'Beyond' dipped a light 7.2% for $20.7 million on Saturday and declined a further 20.9% on Sunday for $16.3 million for a weekend-to-Friday ratio of 2.66-to-1, which falls below the 2.8-to-1 ratio of 'Star Trek' and 3.25-to-1 ratio of 'Star Trek Into Darkness' (though the latter opened on Thursday instead of the traditional Friday). This suggests that the film will fail to hold up as well as those films. However, with strong reviews (84% on RT) and word-of-mouth (86% Flixter rating and 'A-' CinemaScore), it's hard to think that the three-quel will fail to hold up as well as 'Into Darkness' (3.26x). That result gets it to a strong $193.3 million total. The previous 'Star Trek' films were able to hold their own amidst brutal competition throughout the summer, and with the only major films challenging its holding power in the coming weeks being 'Jason Bourne' next weekend and 'Suicide Squad' the following weekend, a $190 million gross or higher seems plausible.<br />
Last weekend's champion 'The Secret Life of Pets' continued its impressive run in theaters, dropping a solid 41.8% to gross $29.6 million for a grand total of $261 million through three weeks of play. That is a better third weekend hold than 'Despicable Me 2' (-43.3%) and 'Minions' (-53.5%). With no major family competition until 'Pete's Dragon' on August 12, 'Pets' should continue to hold up well throughout the month of July. A $320 million total is still possible for the $75-million toon.<br />
In a very strong third place, Warner Bros.' $4.9-million horror flick 'Lights Out' scared up a much-better-expected $21.7 million for a robust $7.7k PTA. It represents the fourth straight success of a horror film this summer, following 'The Conjuring 2' ($40.4m), 'The Shallows' ($16.8m), and 'The Purge: Election Year' ($31.5m). Strong reviews and solid word-of-mouth easily helped 'Lights Out' overcome expectations, and with a solid premise that is superior to most horror offerings audiences were clearly convinced to check out this PG-13 thriller.<br />
<a href="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/57211eedab48de3e8ab568a8/t/576aaa2715d5db01f252a1c8/1466608169142/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/57211eedab48de3e8ab568a8/t/576aaa2715d5db01f252a1c8/1466608169142/" height="178" width="320" /></a> The horror film opened to $9.2 million on Friday (including $1.8m from Thursday), fell 22.1% on Saturday for $7.1 million, and dropped 24.1% on Sunday to gross $5.4 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio here is 2.36-to-1, typical for a horror film regardless of reviews. Word-of-mouth is currently at 74% on Flixter coinciding with the 77% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating that 'Lights Out' could possibly hold up better than your average horror film. In that case, a cume above $55 million is very likely.<br />
<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s6kGpBTZyr0/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s6kGpBTZyr0/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a> In a very disappointing fourth, Fox's $105-million animated sequel 'Ice Age: Collision Course' opened to just $21.4 million. That's way less than half of the previous outing in the long-running franchise, 'Continental Drift' ($46.6m) and is less than a third of 'The Meltdown''s debut ($68m). With the strongly-reviewed (not to mention highly-anticipated) 'Finding Dory' and 'Secret Life of Pets' already tearing up the marketplace, it was unlikely many were going to care for another 'Ice Age' film, which received very poor reviews that likely fended off casual moviegoers. Apparently the franchise just grew one film too long.<br />
The toon opened to a measly $7.9 million on Friday (including $850k from Thursday), fell 3.2% on Saturday to gross $7.7 million, and fell another 24.5% on Sunday to gross $5.8 million. The ratio here is a so-so 2.71-to-1, which is quite front-loaded for an animated offering (except for a highly-anticipated monster opener). With a 13% RT rating and 46% Flixter score, it doesn't look likely to beat the multiplier of 'Ice Age: The Meltdown' (2.87x). In that case, a $60 million total is most likely out of reach, which would signify a loss of over $100 million compared to the previous installment. However, it is doing exceptionally well overseas, where it just passed the $200 million global mark.<br />
'Ghostbusters' dropped quite a bit this weekend, falling 54.3% for $21 million in its sophomore frame. The $144-million franchise starter has now grossed $86.3 million, and though a possible $140 million final cume isn't anything to be sorry about Sony will have to hope for strong international returns if they want to keep making 'Ghostbusters' films.<br />
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In seventh and eighth, Warner Bros.' $180-million adventure 'The Legend of Tarzan' and Fox's $33-million R-rated comedy 'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates' both had identical drops. The former dipped 42.5% for $6.6 million and a $116 million cume. The film has surprisingly not fell more than 50% in any of its weekends yet, and will likely end its run with around $130 million. The latter eased 42.7% for $4.4 million and a $40.3 million gross in three weeks of play. A $50 million may be doable.<br />
'Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party' claimed ninth place and grossed $3.96 million, up 5,199.3% due to its 1,213 extra theaters. The political documentary is generating positive word-of-mouth among Republicans and with $4.1 million in the bank, a $15 million grand total is likely.<br />
'The Infiltrator' held up well in its second weekend, grossing $3.3 million (-37.2%). Though it is impressive considering its muted grosses last weekend and mixed reviews and word-of-mouth, its $12.3 million cume is still a big loss for Broad Green Pictures. Unfortunately, the Bryan Cranston drug thriller looks to fail to top $20 million.<br />
'Central Intelligence' and 'The Purge: Election Year' rounded out the Top 12. The former made $2.8 million (-37.2%) for a $123.1 million total. $130 million still seems possible. The latter plummeted 61.5% for $2.4 million and has now grossed $76.6 million. Though $90 million is out of reach at this point, $85 million could be a lock.<br />
The Top 12 grossed $183.6 million, up 18.2% from last weekend and up 29.5% from last year when 'Ant-Man' repeated atop of 'Pixels'.<br />
Next weekend sees the release of another long-awaited sequel in the form of 'Jason Bourne', which is expected to return the film series to its original box office glory. Meanwhile, 'Bad Moms' will try to be the first R-rated comedy breakout of the summer following a couple of duds and the thriller 'Nerve' will open this Wednesday, though it isn't expected to make much.Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-33648854180394155212016-07-18T20:32:00.000-07:002016-07-18T20:32:44.239-07:00Weekend Report: 'Pets' and 'Ghostbusters' Slime the Box Office It was a fairly busy weekend at the box office this weekend, with last weekend's record-breaker 'The Secret Life of Pets' repeating on top while Sony's much talked-about 'Ghostbusters' reboot also brought up some solid figures.<br />
<a href="http://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/photos/10220/910344_011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://content.internetvideoarchive.com/content/photos/10220/910344_011.jpg" /></a> Leading the weekend for the second time in a row, Universal / Illumination's $75-million animated blockbuster 'The Secret Life of Pets' dipped 51.3% to gross $50.8 million. While that drop is a bit worse than 'Finding Dory''s (-46%), 'Despicable Me' (-41.8%), and 'Despicable Me 2' (-47.4%), it is an improvement over the studio's last outing, 'Minions' (-57.4%), which already had a built-in brand working in its favor. So far, 'Pets' has grossed a stellar $203.4 million in just two weeks of plays and can possibly exceed March's 'Zootopia' ($341.1m) to become the highest-grossing original film of the year and second biggest animated film behind only 'Finding Dory' (which also had a lot more going for it).<br />
Though it had to settle for second place, Sony's $144-million female ensemble led 'Ghostbusters' reboot was no slouch. Opening to $46.0 million for a respectable $11.6k per-theater average, the film debuted right alongside expectations, which tended to range anywhere from $40 million to $55 million. Obviously, it posted the biggest opening weekend launch for director Paul Fieg and stars Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig. It did a lot better than past big-budget sci-fi reboots from Sony such as 'Total Recall' ($25.6m) and 'RoboCop' ($21.7m) and nearly doubled the opening of last year's 'Pixels' ($24m). It also beat both the original and adjusted opening weekend of the first 'Ghostbusters', which was released over 30 years ago.<br />
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Among Fieg / McCarthy collaborations, it debuted well above 'Bridesmaids' ($26.2m), 'The Heat' ($39.1m), and 'Spy' ($29.1m), though all of them played in fewer theaters. Compared to some other of McCarthy's films, it bested this year's 'The Boss' ($23.6m), 'Tammy' ($21.6m), and 'Identity Thief' ($34.6m). It is the second best opening for a live-action film starring Kristen Wiig, behind 'The Martian' ($54.3m). Just for the sake of comparisons, it outgrossed 'Red Dawn''s entire theatrical run ($44.8m), bested 'The A-Team' ($25.7m), 'The Dukes of Hazzard' ($30.7m), and 'Mad Max: Fury Road' ($45.4m) and came in below 'Pitch Perfect 2' ($69.2m), '22 Jump Street' ($57.1m), 'The Karate Kid' ($55.7m), and 'Clash of the Titans' ($61.2m).<br />
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The CGI-fueled comedy started out with $17.1 million on Friday (including Thursday's $3.4m), dipped a miniscule 4.3% on Saturday for $16.4 million, and fell a further 23.8% on Sunday to gross $12.5 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio is a so-so 2.69-to-1. Now it's time for figuring out how well it will hold up. If it plays like 'Bridesmaids' (6.45x), 'The Heat' (4.08x), or 'Spy' (3.81x), 'Ghostbusters' will reach nearly $300m, nearly $190 million, and over $175 million. Though its reviews are nothing to laugh at (73% "Certified Fresh" score on RT), word-of-mouth is much more mixed with a 57% Flixter score and a modest 'B+' CinemaScore, so those outcomes aren't that likely. Compared to other big-budget films with similar word-of-mouth such as 'Clash of the Titans', 'RoboCop', 'The A-Team', and 'Pixels' a total in the realm of $120 million to $150 million. Expect 'Ghostbusters' to wind up right in between those two numbers, but it there is an outside chance it will finish on the higher end.<br />
Occupying third place, Warner Bros.' surprise action-packed hit of the summer 'The Legend of Tarzan', which cost a whopping $180 million to produce, continued to benefit from positive word-of-mouth, dipping just 45.5% in its third weekend. In the process, it surpassed the $100-million milestone and has now swung its way to $103.4 million. While it still depends heavily on international returns to justify such a lofty cost, it should still wind up with a better-than-expected $120 million finish by the end of its run.<br />
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Closely following in fourth was Disney's smash hit 'Finding Dory', dropping 45.8% for $11.3 million. The $200-million sequel to the 2003 classic has now amassed a colossal $445.7 million, just now dethroning 'Shrek 2' ($441.2m) to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time. With overwhelmingly positive reviews (94% RT rating) and word-of-mouth (88% Flixter score), 'Finding Dory' now has its sights set on a $475 million total, and can still make it to $500 million if it has enough gas before then.<br />
'Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates' fell 53.9% for $7.7 million, which is a bit worse than 'The Wedding Ringer''s hold last year. The $33-million R-rated comedy has now grossed $31.5 million and will likely end its run with around $40 million.<br />
<a href="http://www.pophorror.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/the_purge_election_year-HD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pophorror.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/the_purge_election_year-HD.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a> In sixth and seventh were holdovers 'The Purge: Election Year' and 'Central Intelligence. The former dropped 50.1% for $6.2 million. Having banked $71.1 million so far on a $10-million budget, the horror three-quel is on the verge of becoming the highest-grossing film in the series and might pass $90 million if its lucky enough. The latter film starring Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart along with a $50-million price tag experienced the best hold in the Top 12 this weekend, dipping a light 33.1% and earning $5.4 million for a $117.6 million cume. Assuming it continues its spectacular holds, $130 million might be in reach for the action comedy.<br />
All the way down in seventh place was the Bryan Cranston led drug thriller 'The Infiltrator', which cost around $50 million to make but grossed just $5.3 million for its troubles. Since its Wednesday debut, 'Infiltrator' has earned a paltry $6.8 million. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem like the film that will do great business overseas, and with mixed critical and audience reception it's likely this won't hold on to theaters for too long.<br />
Disney's $140-million fantasy adaptation 'The BFG' continued its miserable run in theaters, falling 51.5% to add $3.8 million to its $47.4 million total. With unenthusiastic incomes from foreign countries, this will likely be one of Disney's and Spielberg's biggest flops, which is very disappointing as both have seen outstanding tallies for their films recently. A grand total of around $55 million is likely.<br />
On a much happier note, Sony's $17-million shark attack thriller 'The Shallows' continued holding up solidly, easing 37.4% and making $3 million. Its holds have been spectacular considering its genre, and with $51.4 million already $60 million may be in reach.<br />
Rounding out the Top 12, the Indian drama 'Sultan' plummeted 58.9% from its solid opening and made $974.8k. Though its $5.2 million domestic cume may seem small, it's doing extremely well in its home country where it has garnered $37.7 million.<br />
<a href="https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/cafe-society-2.jpg?w=1000&h=562&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/cafe-society-2.jpg?w=1000&h=562&crop=1" width="320" /></a> Woody Allen's 'Cafe Society' grossed $359.3k from just 5 theaters for a $71.9k per-theater average, easily becoming 2016's PTA winner. It's not on par with recent Allen films like 'Midnight in Paris' ($599k O.W. / $99.8k PTA) and 'Blue Jasmine' ($612.1k O.W. / $102k PTA), but it's still a solid debut in its own right. Expect this to expend strongly in the coming weeks.<br />
In 3 theaters, 'Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party' grossed $74.8k for a strong $24.9k PTA. Though this is a great opening, it was a very front-loaded weekend for the documentary (1.82x). It is expected to expand into 1,200 theaters next weekend.<br />
<a href="http://scifanatic.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/star-terk-beyond-scotty-jaylah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://scifanatic.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/star-terk-beyond-scotty-jaylah.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a> The Top 12 this weekend amassed $155.4 million, off 25.7% from last weekend and down 15.3% from last year when 'Ant-Man' ruled the competition.<br />
Next weekend will be a lot more active, as we are not only looking at the second weekend of 'Ghostbusters' but also the much-anticipated debut of 'Star Trek Beyond' (which is getting strong reviews so far), 'Ice Age: Collision Course (not-very-good reviews), and 'Lights Out' (which is getting stellar reviews for a horror film with 100% from 12 reviews in on RT so far). Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-90714352008188245042016-06-18T14:29:00.001-07:002016-06-18T14:29:11.349-07:00Friday Report: 'Finding Dory' Keeps On Swimming While Audiences Pay Interest in 'Central Intelligence' Following a box office rebound last weekend, 'Finding Dory' will continue the impressive numbers as it looks to be the biggest animated opener of all time, demolishing previous record-holder 'Shrek the Third'. Meanwhile, fellow opener 'Central Intelligence' also debuted to solid figures, successfully counter-programming against all of the sequels and adaptations.<br />
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Easily taking first place on Friday, 'Finding Dory' posted the largest opening day for an animated film in history, handily defeating the $38.4 million opening day of the aforementioned 'Shrek the Third'. It also did notably better than 'Minions' ($46m) and previous Pixar record-holder 'Toy Story 3' ($41.1m). As previously mentioned, 'Dory' is expected to beat the $121.6 million debut of 'Shrek' for the biggest animated opening weekend ever. The immense goodwill of its predecessor 'Finding Nemo', which is arguably one of the most beloved films of all time regardless of being animated or not, strong critical reviews and unprecedented buzz going into the weekend, and the endless promotion of the film on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show' helped 'Dory' secure its spot at the box office. Disney is officially predicting a weekend of around $130 million to $145 million, which is a bit front-loaded for an animated offering though it is understandable given the massive numbers and that no animated film before has ever gotten this high. However, all of the above reasons as well as solid word-of-mouth should get the film to hold up strongly over Father's Day weekend, making a $150m+ debut a reasonable prediction.<br />
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<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QrgXU1zHfFI/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QrgXU1zHfFI/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a> In a distant but solid second place was the $50-million Dwayne Johnson/Kevin Hart led action comedy 'Central Intelligence', which grossed $13 million. That is ahead of recent Kevin Hart comedies 'About Last Night' ($12.9m), 'Think Like A Man Too' ($12.2m), 'Get Hard' ($12.9m), and 'Ride Along 2' ($11.9m). As for Johnson's filmography, it almost outdoes 'Snitch''s $13.2 million opening and does beat the $8.5 million debut of 2010's 'Faster'. Among buddy cop films, it performed right in line with 'The Other Guys' ($13.1m), 'The Heat' ($13.7m), and '21 Jump Street' ($13.2m) while outperforming 'The Green Hornet' ($11.1m) and '2 Guns' ($9.9m) among comparisons. Overall, all of the previously mentioned films (excluding 'Snitch' and 'Faster') finished the weekend in the range of $25.6 million to $39.1 million. 'Central Intelligence' is very likely to finish on the high end of those numbers, with a possible weekend of around $35 million to $38 million.<br />
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<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QjSC71AYyfM/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QjSC71AYyfM/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a> Though the $40-million horror sequel 'The Conjuring 2' received strong critical reviews and audience reception, it still wasn't able to match the holding power of its predecessor. Dropping a sharp 66.9% from its opening day, 'Conjuring' grossed $5.4 million, which is lower than the $7.3 million second Friday of the first 'Conjuring' and barely better than the $5.2 million of its spin-off 'Annabelle'. In fact, its Friday-to-Friday drop was more on par with 'Annabelle' than the original 'Conjuring'. So far, the horror sequel has now made a solid $61.6 million. If it follows 'Annabelle''s pattern, it will end the weekend with around $16.5 million.<br />
Fellow sequel 'Now You See Me 2' also failed to replicate the impressive holding power of its 2013 predecessor, tumbling 66.5% for $2.8 million. That is a much steeper fall than the 39.7% drop of the original, which grossed $6.1 million. So far, the $90-million magician thriller sequel has now made a so-so $34.5 million in eight days of release. A weekend of around $9 million to $10 million is likely.<br />
<a href="http://amazonadviser.com/files/2016/06/Warcraft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://amazonadviser.com/files/2016/06/Warcraft.jpg" width="320" /></a> The final June 10th wide release, Universal's $160-million video game adaptation fantasy 'Warcraft', continued its miserable domestic run, grossing just $1.9 million and plummeting a ghastly 82%. Word-of-mouth is great for the film, but apparently its overall lack of interest as well as unenthusiastic critical reviews have prevented many from checking it out in theaters. With a meager $33.1 million in the bank, 'Warcraft' should finish with over $5.5 million for the weekend. However, it is doing much, much, much better overseas than over here, especially in China were it has demolished records.<br />
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<u><b>Weekend Forecast</b></u></div>
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1. 'Finding Dory' - $154.6 million</div>
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2. 'Central Intelligence' - $36.1 million</div>
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3. 'The Conjuring 2' - $16.6 million (-58.9%)</div>
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4. 'Now You See Me 2' - $9.4 million (-58%)</div>
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5. 'Warcraft' - $5.7 million (-76.4%)</div>
Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-10852033010269345992016-06-06T16:52:00.002-07:002016-06-06T16:52:38.228-07:00Weekend Actuals: 'TMNT 2' Underwhelms, 'Me Before You' Captures Audiences' Hearts and 'Popstar' Bombs It was a slow weekend at the box office, with 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows' quietly taking first from the disappointing 'X-Men: Apocalypse'. One of the other new wide releases, 'Me Before You', performed exceptionally well amidst all the competition while 'Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping' stalled out.<br />
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In the number one position, $135-million action sequel kid pic 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows' grossed $35.32 million for an $8.7k per-theater average. That is 46.1% lower than its 2014 predecessor's $65.6 million debut in August (when movies usually have more muted grosses than in June) and 49.1% down from its per-theater average. Although it was essentially guaranteed that the sequel would never match its predecessor's opening, nobody expected this kind of opening until right before release (ranging from $25m-$40m). While reviews are a slight improvement over the first's, they still weren't convincing enough to get many audiences out to see the film. Add in some unimpressive marketing and promising more of the same but on a bigger scale (pretty much what all action sequels do), and this just wasn't appealing enough to help the franchise break out once more.<br />
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Opening on Friday with $12.48 million ($2m from Thursday), 'Shadows' rose 4.3% on Saturday to gross $13.02 million and fell 24.7% on Sunday to make $9.81 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio here is 2.83-to-1, which is at least an improvement over the 2.56-to-1 ratio of its predecessor. Still, word-of-mouth isn't anything special with a 61% Flixter score (around where the first was at after opening weekend), though CinemaScore audiences were more forgiving ('A-' compared to the first's 'B'). It's unlikely it will hit $100 million, and $90 million would probably even be a stretch. A total near that number such as over/under $85 million is more likely. Overseas, 'Shadows' brought in $33 million, which is a slight improvement over the first's $29 million back in August 2014. It then snagged a 10.4x multiplier for a strong $302.1 million overseas cume. While it's unlikely to match that number given that sequels are usually more frontloaded than their predecessors, 'Shadows' will probably make up its domestic shortcomings with its foreign numbers. Top markets included the UK ($5.3m), Russia ($4.8m), Indonesia ($2.3m), and Malaysia ($2.2m). Expect a foreign total well over $200 million and a possible $400 million and up global take.<br />
<a href="http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/2016/04/xmenapocalypseimax-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/2016/04/xmenapocalypseimax-1.jpg" height="189" width="320" /></a> Coming off of a disappointing opening weekend, 'X-Men: Apocalypse' continued to perform below expectations with a sharp 65.3% drop and $22.83 million weekend take. That is worse than the 64.2% drop of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' as well as its $32.55 million gross. So far, the $178-million ensemble-led superhero blockbuster has totaled an uneventful $117 million in two weeks of play. It now looks to finish with around $160 million, which looks even more shameful given that that's only a little better than what the very first 'X-Men' did back in 2000 ($157.3m), and that's unadjusted for inflation. That would also mean it would only be better than the adjusted gross of 'X-Men: First Class' ($156.03m), which was a much riskier bet back in its time of release. At least it's doing exceptional overseas, grossing $84.4 million (+52.2%) for a $284.45 million overseas gross and $401.45 million worldwide. China attributed to the majority of that figure, with 'Apocalypse' raking in $59 million from that territory. Other notable countries are the UK ($23m), Korea ($18m), Mexico ($17m), Brazil ($15.9m), France ($12.9m), and Russia ($10.3m). A final worldwide gross of at least $500 million is likely at this point.<br />
The $20-million romantic drama based upon the popular novel of the same name 'Me Before You' got off to a very strong third place start, grossing $18.72 million for a $6.9k average. While it would be unfair to say that 100% of the film's success came from star Emilia Clarke, she most likely did have a positive impact on the film's performance since she has made a name for herself on HBO's 'Game of Thrones', one of the most successful television shows in recent memory. Add that with the fanbase of the novel and the long period of time since a female-targeting wide release, you have a recipe for success.<br />
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'Me Before You' debuted with $7.78 million on Friday (including $1.365m from Thursday night previews), fell 20.3% on Saturday to earn $6.2 million, and fell another 23.5% on Sunday for $4.74 million. The ratio is 2.41-to-1, which is better than 'If I Stay' (2.3-to-1) and 'Paper Towns' (2-to-1) though it is behind the 2.66-to-1 ratio of last year's 'The Age of Adaline', though that film opened in April opposed to the summer releases of this film, 'Stay', and 'Towns'. Reviews are middling (55% on Rotten Tomatoes), which is normal for the romance genre, but word-of-mouth is dazzling (84% Flixter rating and 'A' CinemaScore) and stronger than the three previously mentioned comparisons (which were in the range of 48%-67%). A multiplier of at least 3.5x is likely, which would result in a domestic cume of at least $65 million, and while $90 million might be a stretch $80 million could be in reach. Overseas, it debuted to a solid $8.2 million.<br />
<a href="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BNTA4MTQ5MTgxOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzY3NTg0ODE@._V1_CR25,0,1230,692_AL_UY268_CR9,0,477,268_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BNTA4MTQ5MTgxOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzY3NTg0ODE@._V1_CR25,0,1230,692_AL_UY268_CR9,0,477,268_AL_.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a> Disney's $170-million fantasy misfire 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' didn't hold up nearly as well as the studio's previous fantasy tales, plummeting 57.9% and grossing $11.31 million, adding up to a very underwhelming $51.4 million total in two weeks. The second weekend gross and drop is below that of its predecessor ($62.71m/-46%), 'Oz the Great and Powerful' ($41.25m/-47.9%), 'Maleficent' ($34.33m/-50.6%), 'Cinderella' ($34.97m/-48.5%), and 'The Jungle Book' ($61.54m/-40.4%), all of which opened with much bigger numbers. Unfortunately, it now looks as if it will struggle to hit the $85 million mark that 'Alice in Wonderland' surpassed in just two days. It now looks as if it can even fail to hit $80 million. Overseas, the fantasy fell 52.4% for $30.9 million as it continues to perform much stronger overseas than domestic. However, foreign territories are also lagging behind the performance of the first 'Alice'. With $125 million overseas and $176.4 million worldwide, 'Looking Glass' will ultimately try to push past the $400 million global mark, which is a major comedown from the $1.025 billion worldwide cume of the first. It also has no chance to meet that film's $691.28 million foreign gross. Instead, $215 million is more likely.<br />
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Rounding out the Top 5, Sony's $73-million animated video game adaptation 'The Angry Birds Movie' fell 45.6% in its third weekend for $10.21 million. So far, the mixed-reviewed film has now amassed $87.12 million and should pass $100 million by next week or at least get close to it. It will pass the $90.76 million total of 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time' sometime this week to become the second highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time (domestically) behind 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' ($131.17m), which it now has a slim chance at besting. Still, a solid total of around $120 million is a lock. Overseas, 'Angry Birds' scored another $31.8 million for a new overseas cume of $196.79 million and worldwide gross of $283.91 million. Top countries include China ($49m), Russia ($10.7m), Germany ($8.5m), the UK ($8.4m), Brazil ($6.4m), and Mexico ($6.1m). Worldwide, it's the third highest-grossing video game movie after 'Prince of Persia' ($336.37m) and 'Resident Evil: Afterlife' ($296.22m), but at this rate it will probably end up with over $360 million making it the biggest video game adaptation of all time worldwide.<br />
'Captain America: Civil War' continued to reaffirm its position as the highest-grossing 2016 release both domestically and worldwide, dropping 49.1% for $7.83 million. Its $389.18 million domestic cume is the 23rd biggest, behind 'Frozen' ($400.74m), 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' ($402.11m), 'Jurassic Park' ($402.45m), 'Spider-Man' ($403.71m), 'The Hunger Games' ($408.01m), 'Iron Man 3' ($409.01m), and 'Toy Story 3' ($415m), all of which it should surpass in the coming weeks. $420 million should still be in reach. Its overseas gross is now $742.9 million, raising its global cume to $1.132 billion, making it the twelfth biggest movie worldwide behind 'Minions' ($1.159b) and 'Iron Man 3' ($1.215b) and should wind up in between the two.<br />
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'Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising' followed suit in seventh place, dropping 48% to gross $4.86 million and for a new $48.72 million, which is a bit behind what the first 'Neighbors' opened with. 'Sorority Rising' is now looking for a disappointing $60 million finish, which 'Neighbors' passed in six days of release. Overseas, the R-rated comedy sequel has grossed $40.76 million and $89.49 million worldwide, setting its sights on a worldwide total of over $110 million (and that's just being hopeful), which is a big step down from the $270.67 million worldwide gross of the original.<br />
Debuting in a very disappointing seventh, Universal's $21-million musical mockumentary/comedy 'Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping' failed to translate great reviews into an encouraging opening, making just $4.7 million for a measly $2k average. That is only $66k better than 2010's SNL comedy 'MacGruber', which eked out only $4.04 million. Reviews and word-of-mouth are pretty decent (both scores are over 75%), but that probably won't help the film hold up well in the long run. Don't be surprised if it fails to hit $10 million total.<br />
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<a href="http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CON2-04652r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.bloody-disgusting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/CON2-04652r.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a> The Top 12 overall grossed a so-so $127.7 million, down 19.6% from last weekend but up 2.2% from when 'Spy' led the box office before 'Jurassic World' blew everything up. Next weekend sees the release of not one, but two sequels as well as another video game adaptation. I'm not expecting a breakout performance from any of them as it's very likely the summer tentpoles will cannibalize on each other by fighting over older male audiences all at the same time. The film's are the modestly-budgeted and well-reviewed horror sequel 'The Conjuring 2' (which arguably has the most potential of the three), the divisively-reviewed magician/caper sequel to the 2013 surprise hit 'Now You See Me' called the same thing but with a "2" slapped at the end (which will probably end up in the high-teens to mid-twenties for the weekend), and the big-budget poorly-reviewed adaptation of the popular video game series 'Warcraft' (which will struggle to break the $20m mark for the weekend). There is still hope for June though, as 'Finding Dory', 'Central Intelligence', and 'Independence Day: Resurgence' still have time to hit theaters, but that's for a later post.<br />
<br />Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-72972764541830540172016-06-04T12:36:00.002-07:002016-06-04T12:36:30.387-07:00Friday Report: 'TMNT 2' Modest While 'Me Before You' Performs Strongly<a href="http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-2/tmnttrailer2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-2/tmnttrailer2.jpg" height="134" width="320" /></a> Easily taking first place at the box office yesterday was Paramount's $135-million action sequel 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows', which reeled in $12.5 million. That is slightly above expectations as going into the weekend they began to drop below $30 million. While it is ahead of projections, 'Shadows' fell 51.2% from the $25.6 million take of its predecessor. This is the fourteenth time this year that a sequel has opened below its predecessor, and it's likely to continue throughout the rest of the summer (albeit a few exceptions like 'Finding Dory' and 'Jason Bourne'). If it plays like its predecessor it will end the weekend with less than $32 million. With slightly stronger reviews and word-of-mouth, I'm going to predict it will hold up a bit better through the weekend but its performance in the long run is still debatable. A $34 million opening is likely for the big-budget kid pic.<br />
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In a very respectable second place was the $20-million romantic drama 'Me Before You', which is based upon the popular novel of the same novel and garnering $7.75 million. That is above the last three Nicholas Sparks films, last July's 'Paper Towns', and 2014's 'If I Stay'. This is a very solid result as the popularity of the book has obviously translated into solid figures. Strong word-of-mouth should propel the film to a weekend over $18 million and it could even top $20 million if it's lucky enough.<br />
In third place, 'X-Men: Apocalypse' continued to fall below expectations significantly with $6.55 million, down 75.1% from opening day. That drop is a bit worse than 'X-Men: Days of Future Past''s 73.5% decline and way off from 'X-Men: First Class''s 64.8% drop. It is also weaker than 'Captain America: Civil War' (-74%) but not quite as bad as 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' (-81.6%). So far, the $178-million franchise outing has grossed a disappointing $100.7 million. If it plays like 'Days', the second weekend total would be at $22.5 million. Given that word-of-mouth and reviews are a lot weeker this time around, a weekend around $21 million would be more likely.<br />
<a href="http://images.latinpost.com/data/images/full/102392/alice-through-the-looking-glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.latinpost.com/data/images/full/102392/alice-through-the-looking-glass.jpg" height="198" width="320" /></a> 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' placed fourth with $3.155 million, down a troubling 67.5% from opening day and raising its cume to an uneventful $43.2 million. That drop is worse than its predecessor's (-57.6%), 'Oz the Great and Powerful' (-52.8%), 'Maleficent' (-58.1%), 'Cinderella' (-58.8%), and 'The Jungle Book' (-48.6%). Terrible reviews and mixed word-of-mouth are taking a toll on 'Alice''s performance as well as an overstuffed marketplace and Johnny Depp's fading starpower. In fact, it's more on par with 'Thor: The Dark World' (-67%) and 'Clash of the Titans' (-68%), which are much less family-friendly and a lot more violent. A weekend around $10.5 million or $11 million is likely.<br />
Rounding out the Top 5, 'The Angry Birds Movie' dropped 48.5% to gross $2.6 million. The $73-million animated video game adaptation has now made $79.5 million and will probably pass $85 million this weekend. $10 million should be a lock.<br />
In a disappointing seventh, the $21-million musical mockumentary/satire 'Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping' made a paltry $1.77 million. That is only a bit better than the $1.57 million 'MacGruber' pulled in. If it goes a similar pattern, 'Popstar' will gross $4.5 million in its weekend, a likely result.<br />
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<u><b>Weekend Forecast</b></u></div>
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1. 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows' - $34.6 million</div>
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2. 'X-Men: Apocalypse' - $21.3 million (-67.6%)</div>
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3. 'Me Before You' - $19.5 million</div>
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4. 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' - $10.7 million (-60.2%)</div>
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5. 'The Angry Birds Movie' - $10.1 million (-46.3%)</div>
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-- 'Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping' - $4.6 million</div>
Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-73027434517474725992016-06-03T11:14:00.003-07:002016-06-03T11:14:58.357-07:00Thursday Night Report: 'TMNT 2' Fails to Impress, 'Me Before You' Strong, 'Popstar' Doesn't Break Out<a href="http://image.syracuse.com/home/syr-media/width620/img/entertainment_impact/photo/19361741-mmmain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://image.syracuse.com/home/syr-media/width620/img/entertainment_impact/photo/19361741-mmmain.jpg" height="170" width="320" /></a> It looks to be a slow weekend at the box office once again, as 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows' fell below its already scaled-back expectations to gross $2 million in Thursday night previews. That's 56.5% lower than the $4.6 million start of 2014's 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'. Obviously, unimpressive reviews (33% on RT) and mixed word-of-mouth (65% on Flixter) will make the film fail to hold up as well as its predecessor. An opening less than $30 million is likely for the $135 million family pic.<br />
<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T0MmkG_nG1U/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T0MmkG_nG1U/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a> In contrast, 'Me Before You', the $20-million romance based upon the novel of the same name, got off to a strong start with $1.365 million, besting the $1.1 million 'If I Stay' made in 2014 and the last three Nicholas Sparks films. The former went on to debut with $15.7 million, and it looks as if 'Me Before You' will surpass that and expectations albeit slightly.<br />
'Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping' flopped with $322k, which is a bit more than what 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' and 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' made in February and March (both $300k). Expectations ranged from $5 million to $10 million, but looks as if it will now finish the weekend with a little more than $3 million.<br />
<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q9RoNzJrmDo/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q9RoNzJrmDo/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a> Last week's champion 'X-Men: Apocalypse' is looking at a drop of over 60% due to weak reviews and word-of-mouth and will battle 'TMNT 2' for the top spot. 'Me Before You' will likely finish third behind those films unless 'Alice Through the Looking Glass holds up better than expected, which is unlikely, and 'Captain America: Civil War' and 'The Angry Birds Movie' will duke it out for fourth place. Right now, 2016 box office is tracking 3.3% ahead of 2015 but if the weak performances of sequels continue to affect the box office it will likely start falling behind. <br />
<br />Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-5554439369253520602016-05-09T21:55:00.000-07:002016-05-09T21:55:09.249-07:00Weekend Actuals: 'Civil War' Excellent with Fifth-Biggest Opening Ever The Marvel Cinematic Universe's thirteenth installment, 'Captain America: Civil War', was widely expected by many to be the fourth film to open with over $200 million at the domestic box office this weekend. While it didn't quite reach those heights, it certainly wasn't a disappointment as it delivered the fifth-hugest opening of all time.<br />
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Obviously occupying first place was 'Captain America: Civil War', the $250-million action-packed thirteenth MCU film, with opened with a huge $179.1 million for a stellar $42.4k per-theater average (sixth-biggest for a wide release). As already mentioned, it sits on the number five spot on the domestic opening chart, between fellow Marvel behemoths 'Iron Man 3' ($174.1m) and 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' ($191.3m), both of which wound up with over $400 million total. But more on the final grosses later. 'Civil War' just posted the biggest opening of 2016 so far and the fourth $100m+ opener of the year following 'Deadpool' ($132.4m), 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' ($166m), and 'The Jungle Book' ($103.3m). The breathtaking Avenger vs. Avenger spectacle also opened ahead of superhero heavyweights 'The Dark Knight Rises' ($160.9m), 'The Dark Knight' ($158.4m), and 'Spider-Man 3' ($151.1m). In fact, it surpassed the lifetime gross of the first 'Captain America' film, 'The First Avenger' ($176.7m) in just one weekend and over two-thirds of 'Winter Soldier''s $259.8 million cume. This is a very healthy debut that just happens to be right in line with expectations, which ranged from $160 million to $215 million. It is currently one of the best-reviewed and best-received of the MCU, so it looks like it will have a very healthy run throughout the rest of May.<br />
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<a href="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Captain-America-Civil-War-2-Trailer-Vision-vs-Scarlet-Witch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Captain-America-Civil-War-2-Trailer-Vision-vs-Scarlet-Witch.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Captain-America-Civil-War-Trailer-2-War-Machine-Shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Captain-America-Civil-War-Trailer-2-War-Machine-Shot.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a>Opening on Friday with a mammoth $75.5 million (including an impressive $25m from Thursday previews), the superhero three-quel declined 18.9% on Saturday for $61.2 million, and fell 30.7% on Sunday to gross $42.4 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio here is a pretty front-loaded 2.37-to-1, which is the the second worst ratio of the MCU behind 'Age of Ultron''s 2.27-to-1 ratio (which had to compete with the immensely popular Manny vs. Pacquiao fight on Saturday). Still, that film has a 75% Tomatometer and an 84% Flixter rating while 'Civil War' boasts a stellar 90% Tomatometer and a 92% Flixter score. Its CinemaScore stands at an 'A', which is on par with 'Ultron' and 'Winter Soldier' as well as 'Deadpool' while handily defeating 'Batman v Superman''s 'B' CinemaScore. As a result of awesome reviews and encouraging word-of-mouth, 'Civil War' has a lot of potential to hold up better than those films. The worst one so far is the 1.97x multiplier of 'Batman' with second place belonging to 'Ultron' (2.4x). 'Winter Soldier' and 'Deadpool' have nearly identical 2.73x and 2.74x multipliers, which is a likely result for 'Civil War' (getting it to over $490m). If it plays similar to 'Ultron' or 'Iron Man 3', $430 million is a lock. The former total is way more likely, and if it holds up even better than $500 million will easily be in reach for the box office behemoth. And while this is rare for a Marvel film, tripling its opening would get it to around $540 million. Let's keep our fingers crossed now, shall we?<br />
The rest of the box office quieted down significantly, with the top holdover being Disney's 'The Jungle Book' of course. The $175-million CGI/live-action hybrid fantasy actually held up pretty well in the face of brutal comepition, dropping a very respectable 44% for $24.5 million. With a massive total of $287.6 million so far, expect this one to cross over $300 million in the next week or so. With that said, a domestic cume of over $325 million now seems like a guarantee at this point.<br />
Coming off of a middling debut last weekend, the Garry Marshall directed ensemble led rom-com 'Mother's Day' held up extremely well thanks mostly to the titular weekend, increasing a very strong 32.5% for $11.1 million. Considering that reviews and word-of-mouth (or at least on Flixter) aren't strong at all, this is a very impressive hold even with the actual holiday falling on this weekend. The $25-million film now has $22.8 million, but whether or not it will continue to hold up well remains to be seen. If it does, than a total north of $35 million should be likely.<br />
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<a href="http://cdn.indiewire.psdops.com/dims4/INDIEWIRE/85ba4f8/2147483647/crop/933x656%2B47%2B9/resize/680x478/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdl9fvu4r30qs1.cloudfront.net%2F8a%2Fe8%2F069ca6e34470abbb51276f6fcb9d%2Fhuntsman-winters-war-jessica-chastain-chris-hemsworth-2460-d050-00248rv2-min.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.indiewire.psdops.com/dims4/INDIEWIRE/85ba4f8/2147483647/crop/933x656%2B47%2B9/resize/680x478/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdl9fvu4r30qs1.cloudfront.net%2F8a%2Fe8%2F069ca6e34470abbb51276f6fcb9d%2Fhuntsman-winters-war-jessica-chastain-chris-hemsworth-2460-d050-00248rv2-min.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></div>
All but one film in the Top 10 were completely slaughtered by 'Civil War'. 'The Hunstman: Winter's War' placed in fourth with $3.95 million, down 58.9%. The $115-million prequel/spin-off/sequel continues to bomb horribly with just $40.7 million and it is very unlikely it will make much more than $50 million. 'Keanu' rounded out the Top 5, plummeting 65.2% for $3.3 million. The $15-million continues to underwhelm with $15.3 million and should inch past $20 million total before the end of its run. In sixth was 'Zootopia', which was that one film that didn't get slaughtered, falling just 39.7% and grossing $3.2 million. The $150-million animated dramedy has raked in a solid $328.2 million and should ultimately get to at least $335 million.<br />
'Barbershop: The Next Cut' couldn't be saved from the "Marvel affect", dropping 53.9% and making $2.8 million. As it winds down, the comedy three-quel has now amassed a respectable $48.9 million and might be able to pass $55 million. Fellow comedy 'The Boss' fared a bit worse, falling 55.4% for $1.9 million and a $59.3 million cume. It should close with below $65 million. 'Ratchet & Clank' crashed in its second outing, grossing a paltry $1.5 million, down a jaw-dropping 69.9%. The not-so-popular video game adaptation only has $7.1 million so far, and should gross less than $10 million overall.<br />
<a href="http://statcdn.fandango.com/MPX/image/NBCU_Fandango/648/907/EITS_Ex_Original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://statcdn.fandango.com/MPX/image/NBCU_Fandango/648/907/EITS_Ex_Original.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a> As expected, 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' absolutely burned up in its seventh weekend, plummeting 72.9% for $1.05 million. This is likely to be its last weekend with over $1 million. The $250-million DC tentpole has now grossed $327.3 million, and should barely make it to $330 million total, which would ultimately be less than double its opening weekend, which is a very disappointing result. Fellow March 25th opener 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' is also beginning to wrap up, making $645.7k (-41.8%). The $18-million rom-com sequel has now brought in $58.3 million and could have enough juice to get past $60 million. And last but not really least, the Helen Mirren military drama 'Eye in the Sky' rounded out the Top 12 with $561k (-38.3%). With $17.3 million, it should ultimately make less than $20 million total.<br />
The Top 12 this weekend amassed an overall $233.6 million, up a humongous 136% from last weekend and 91% from last year when 'Avengers 2' repeated against 'Hot Pursuit'.<br />
Next weekend sees the openings of 'Money Monster' and 'The Darkness', both of which should open with under $10 million despite their recognizable star power. 'Captain America: Civil War' should have no problem repeating in first and I expect that due to strong reviews/word-of-mouth, it will be the first MCU entry since 'Marvel's The Avengers' to suffer a second weekend drop of 55% or less (meaning a sophomore weekend of at least $80.5 million, which would be the fourth biggest).Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-50893564610810727592016-05-01T16:06:00.001-07:002016-05-09T21:48:08.551-07:00Weekend Estimates: 'Jungle Book' Reigns One Last Time Before 'Captain America' Storms Theaters Disney's big budget CGI/live-action hybrid 'The Jungle Book' topped the weekend box office for one last time before Disney's other big-budget (but entirely live-action) tentpole 'Captain America: Civil War' invades the marketplace. In fact, that film has already racked up record-breaking numbers in a bunch of overseas territories, all the more pointing to a record-breaking opening.<br />
<a href="http://i2.wp.com/bitcast-a-sm.bitgravity.com/slashfilm/wp/wp-content/images/The-Jungle-Book-999_bf_0240_comp_v0246_right.1203-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i2.wp.com/bitcast-a-sm.bitgravity.com/slashfilm/wp/wp-content/images/The-Jungle-Book-999_bf_0240_comp_v0246_right.1203-1.jpg" height="186" width="320" /></a> Easily retaining first place was the $175-million fantasy remake 'The Jungle Book', which dipped a light 29% for $43.7 million. That is the seventh biggest third weekend of all time, ahead of 'The Dark Knight Rises' ($42.7m) and slightly behind 'Spider-Man' ($45m). The strong hold can be contributed to stellar reviews and word-of-mouth and the boost it received from audiences who wanted to catch this before seeing 'Civil War' next weekend. So far, its domestic cume stands at a very impressive $253.4 million, and if it can hold up well throughout the rest of the summer against a bunch of other family-friendly titles than $340 million is a lock. Overseas, it's doing even better, with its foreign total now at a strong $434.8 million in the bank already. With $688.2 million worldwide, the chances of it crossing the $1 billion mark are getting more and more likely.<br />
Barely repeating in second place was Universal's $115-million fantasy prequel/sequel/spin-off 'The Huntsman: Winter's War', which continued to get crushed with just $9.6 million in its second weekend. That's down a comparatively respectable 50.5% given that the drop was expected to be much worse, but its still a domestic flop with just $34.2 million. It should end its run with a disappointing $50 million or up. Worldwide, it's not doing much better, with a foreign gross of $97.8 million and worldwide earnings at $132 million.<br />
Leading the middling slew of newcomers is the $15-million Key & Peele led comedy 'Keanu', which debuted to a modest $9.45 million for a $3.6k per-theater average. That's a bit below expectations, which tended to range from $10 million to $15 million and even as high as $20 million. Still, this is the leads' first theatrical outing, so breakout potential was limited. However, it still should have done better with solid reviews and its popular subject matter working for it.<br />
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Opening on Friday with $3.44 million (including $560k from Thursday), 'Keanu' experienced an uptick of 7.5% on Saturday for $3.7 million, and fell 37.7% on Sunday to gross $2.3 million. That places the weekend-to-Friday ratio at a so-so 2.75-to-1. The 75% RT rating and 72% Flixter score bode well in terms of staying power, but its middling 'B' CinemaScore tells a different story. Just to be safe, I'm going to say 'Keanu' might be able to creep past $25 million total.<br />
Fellow newcomer 'Mother's Day', the $25-million third entry of Garry Marshall's franchise of holiday-based rom-coms, also fell below expectations ($10m-$15m) with $8.4 million ($2.75k PTA). That is WAY WAY WAY less than the $56.3 million 'Valentine's Day' pulled in and is a bit worse than the already underwhelming $13 million of 'New Year's Eve'. This represents yet another underperformer for distributor Open Road, which has been struggling greatly recently. They will be hoping to redeem themselves with September's 'Snowden'.<br />
On Friday, the ensemble-led rom-com grossed $2.8 million, increased 20% on Saturday to gross $3.3 million, and fell 33% on Sunday for $2.2 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio is a strong 2.96-to-1, which is one of the few encouraging signs of the weekend. Its CinemaScore is a 'B+' and its Flixter score is 55%, which is at least better than its 9% RT score. With the titular holiday coming up next weekend, expect a couple strong holds to get it close to $30 million total.<br />
<a href="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2015/11/19/barbershop-the-next-cut_612x380.jpg?itok=pJdWwa32" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2015/11/19/barbershop-the-next-cut_612x380.jpg?itok=pJdWwa32" height="198" width="320" /></a> 'Barbershop: The Next Cut' held up well in fifth, dropping 42.2% and making $6.1 million. The comedy three-quel has now grossed a splendid $44.7 million in three weeks of play and might be able to get past $60 million. 'Zootopia' also experienced a light hold, easing just 19% for $5.3 million. The $150-million animated film's cume now stands at $323.8 million and should inch forward to the $340 million mark. Overseas, it has collected a strong $609 million for a new $932.8 million worldwide cume, which might escalate past $1 billion if it has enough gas left in the tank.<br />
Making less than 'Zootopia''s ninth weekend is the video game adaptation 'Ratchet & Clank', placing in seventh with just $4.9 million ($1.7k PTA). That is the eleventh worst opening for a video game movie, sandwiched between 'Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li' ($4.7m) and 'Wing Commander' ($5.1m). Amidst all the heavy competition, 'Ratchet' didn't stand a chance at becoming a success, falling below industry projections ($5m-$8m).<br />
On Friday, the film earned $1.5 million, increased 33.6% on Saturday for $2 million, and declined 31.2% on Sunday for $$1.375 million. The ratio here is 3.27-to-1, which is solid given that reviews and word-of-mouth are in the cellar. Regardless, it is unlikely it will make much more than $15 million even if it does hold up well.<br />
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'The Boss' and 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' continued playing side-by-side, grossing $4.3 million (-31.2%) and $3.9 million (-29.7%), respectively. The former has so far brought in $56.1 million and should close with around $65 million while the latter has now earned $325.2 million and will likely fall off much more quickly after 'Civil War' arrives in the marketplace next weekend. Expect a total close to $330 million, which would mean the film ultimately failed to double its opening weekend (a feat not to be very proud of).<br />
'Criminal' and 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' each made over $1 million for the weekend, bringing in $1.3 million (-56.8%) and $1.1 million (-47.1%). The former has grossed a lackluster $13.5 million and will likely barely make more than $15 million total while the latter keeps on enjoying its fairly leggy run with $57.3 million and a chance of reaching $60 million.<br />
Roadside Attraction's modestly-reviewed 'A Hologram for the King', starring Tom Hanks, held up very well this weekend, slipping a light 17.2% for $943.2k. The low-budget R-rated comedy/drama has now earned $2.6 million, and might be able to reach $5 million if it continues to expand. <br />
Overall, the Top 12 this weekend made $99 million, down 17.4% from last weekend and down 56.3% from last year when 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' opened with a huge $191.3 million.<br />
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Next weekend, expect the box office to explode to enormous heights when 'Captain America: Civil War' opens with no new competition going against it. Many projections are going past $200 million, with some even thinking it could challenge 'Marvel's The Avengers' ($207.4m) as the biggest Marvel/superhero film opener of all time. My prediction in the monthly forecast was $202.5 million, but now even that seems a bit low. Paired with a strong overseas opening matching that of last year's 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', this is bound to be Marvel's biggest film yet both here and abroad.<br />
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While 'The Jungle Book' ruled in America, 'Captain America: Civil War' absolutely dominated overseas with a humongous $200.4 million from 37 territories. The only MCU film to have a bigger opening than that is 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', which grossed $201.2 million last year and going on to a whopping $946.4 million total. It had the third biggest opening of all time in South Korea with $28.9 million, which is ahead of the $23.1 million 'Ultron' opened to. Another $10.9 million came from Australia, while Taiwan ($8.1m) and the Philippines ($7.5m, or their biggest opening yet) also saw healthy grosses. Japan witnessed a $7.1 million haul while Hong Kong ($6.8m), Thailand ($6m), and Malaysia ($5.1m) had notable performances. It took home the trophy for the biggest opening of all time in Mexico and Brazil, with stunning $20.9 million and $12.3 million debuts. In the UK, 'Civil War' made $20.5 million while France recorded $10.1 million, Germany accounted for $8.1 million, and Spain took in $4.4 million.<br />
<a href="http://cdn02.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/headlines/2016/03/captain-america-civil-war-international-trailer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn02.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/headlines/2016/03/captain-america-civil-war-international-trailer1.jpg" height="158" width="320" /></a> If 'Civil War' plays like 'Ultron', it will end up with over $940 million overseas. If it plays similar to 'Iron Man 3', $810 million is a lock. Just for the sake of comparison, a 'Jurassic World' multiplier (3.22x) 'Civil War' will wind up with $645 million, a 'Furious 7' one (4.65x), and an 'Avengers' multiplier (4.84x) will get it to nearly $970 million overseas. While very unlikely, if 'Civil War' nabs a multiplier similar to its predecessor's (6.05x), then a massive $1.2 billion haul is in store from just foreign grosses alone. If it does manage to quintuple its opening and play like a 'Hobbit' movie, than $1.035 billion is likely. While all of these figures are quite possible, the ones that are most likely to occur are the ones in the $930m-$1b range. Either way, it's a massive success for Marvel Studios and Disney, and it will only get better from here once domestic grosses start rolling out.Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-66137485062751179842016-04-25T22:02:00.002-07:002016-04-25T22:02:58.499-07:00Monthly Forecast: May 2016 In arguably the biggest month of the year, five high-profile films will be marauding theaters throughout May of 2016. Given that May is one of the strongest months of any year, this should be one of the biggest as 'Captain America: Civil War', 'Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising', 'The Angry Birds Movie', 'X-Men: Apocalypse', and 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' should put tons of butts in seats this year.<br />
<br />
<b>Captain America: Civil War</b><br />
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<a href="http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/images/c_scale,h_640,w_1280/t_mp_quality/c4ddzz0g2sm0sebpiexj/who-really-shot-war-machine-in-the-captain-america-civil-war-trailer-897368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/images/c_scale,h_640,w_1280/t_mp_quality/c4ddzz0g2sm0sebpiexj/who-really-shot-war-machine-in-the-captain-america-civil-war-trailer-897368.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a><a href="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--s7B0N_VS--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/hw6rirym2agurlua46y5.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--s7B0N_VS--/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/hw6rirym2agurlua46y5.gif" height="133" width="320" /></a>Continuing the string of highly-anticipated Marvel movies kicking off the summer movie season, 'Captain America: Civil War', the very, very, very anticipated superhero three-quel to the universally liked 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier', arrives in theaters, and could possibly register one of the biggest debuts of all time. First off, goodwill from the second movie should carry on here. 'Winter Soldier' debuted to a very good $95 million back in 2014 and went on to earn $259.8 million overall. With a Tomatometer of 89% and Flixter score of 92%, this is definitely one of the most well-liked comic book films in recent history. Plus, Marvel has always had success on the first weekend of May, with such openers like 'Iron Man' ($98.6m/$318.4m), 'Iron Man 2' ($128.1m/$312.4m), 'Thor' ($65.7m/$181m), 'Marvel's The Avengers' ($207.4m/$623.4m), 'Iron Man 3' ($174.1m/$409m), and 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' ($191.3m/$459m). Not to mention the various other successful Marvel films, such as 'Guardians of the Galaxy' ($94.3m/$333.2m). And not only is Captain America in this film, but Iron Man and a bunch of other Avengers join the cast as well, making this an event film. Black Panther and Spider-Man debut in this film as well, which should make fans drool with impatience. Reviews are amazing (Spider-Man pun not intended), with a stellar 97% Tomatometer based on 35 reviews. The want-to-see rating is a very encouraging +99% from over 100k voters. However, coming off of the massive grosses from 'Deadpool' and 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' so soon, potential could be slightly limited. Still, 'Deadpool' came out just a little less than three months ago, and 'Batman v Superman' is falling off very quickly, so there should be a respectable amount of breathing room for the big-budget tentpole. Projections are enthusiastic, ranging anywhere from $165 million to as high as even $200 million. While some may think that is outlandish, it is definitely possible as the stacked cast, overall appeal among most moviegoers, and awesome reviews should definitely turn out in its favor. I'm going to go with a number a little over the latter number, as I feel confident that this will be one of the biggest movies ever. It could even give 'Avengers' a run for its money, though we'll have to look at its actual holds to determine that.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $203.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $570 million</b><br />
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<b>The Darkness</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.site/PH03txXd8SWJ39_1_l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.site/PH03txXd8SWJ39_1_l.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>Supernatural has been having a pretty decent year so far, with two releases exceeding expectations ('The Forest' with $26.6m and 'The Boy' with $35.8m). Kevin Bacon should also draw in some moviegoers for 'The Darkness', the latest low-budget entry in the popular genre. A couple problems, though, is that there is a lot of competition. While horror fans won't be occupied until the beginning of June, older audiences will be looking at a variety of much more appealing options in the market, such as 'Money Monster' (opening the same weekend), 'The Nice Guys', and, to some extent, 'X-Men: Apocalypse'. While it probably won't reach the heights of 2016's other horror films, 'Darkness' should be a modest performer in its own right.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $7 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $18 million</b><br />
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<b>Money Monster</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Money-Monster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Money-Monster.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a>The $30-million drama/thriller 'Money Monster' will attempt to lock on to second place behind 'Civil War'. On paper, it looks like solid counter-programming: a good old-fashioned reality TV thriller starring some of your favorite actors aiming towards anyone who isn't into explosive, action-packed blockbusters. Also, with its financial-based premise, it should reel in some of those audiences. George Clooney and Julia Roberts aren't exactly reliable draws anymore, though, and it's unlikely they can do anything to help this film truly break out.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $14 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $38.5 million</b><br />
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<b>The Angry Birds Movie</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://cdni.wired.co.uk/620x413/a_c/Angry_Birds_Movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdni.wired.co.uk/620x413/a_c/Angry_Birds_Movie.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>After countless tepid attempts to replicate the success of 'Tomb Raider', 'The Angry Birds Movie' will attempt to dethrone that film to become the biggest video game adaptation of all time (a position to be challenged by 2016's other contenders 'Warcraft' and 'Assassin's Creed'). With the advantage of being more family-friendly than the recent bloody R-rated fare as well as some solid pieces of marketing, it definitely has potential to do so. In fact, in 2015 more than 3 billion downloads of the game have been made. Still, doesn't it kind of feel that this movie came out a bit too late considering that the Angry Birds games aren't nearly as popular as they were when they first came out? Also, 'Zootopia' and 'The Jungle Book' will likely continue to have a presence at the box office, and coming out so soon before 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' and 'Finding Dory' debut is kind of a dumb move. 'Angry Birds' should be solid in its own right overall, and will likely set a new benchmark for video game movies in the process.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $45 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $148.5 million</b><br />
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<b>Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<a href="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2015/12/23/0002-neighbors-2-ew_0.jpg?itok=5dqqOR7L" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2015/12/23/0002-neighbors-2-ew_0.jpg?itok=5dqqOR7L" height="198" width="320" /></a>Another highly-anticipated sequel coming out in May is 'Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising', the sequel to the 2014 smash hit 'Neighbors' ($49m/$150.2m). With the trailers promising more raunchy humor and laugh-out-loud gags, it looks as if it could be as big as a hit as the first one. Most of the returning cast is here (including crowd-pleasers Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, and Zac Efron), with the additions of Chloe Grace Moretz and Selena Gomez in significant roles, which should bring in younger viewers. While it basically looks pretty similar to its predecessor, the sorority element of it will likely keep it fresh. However, comedy sequels have been performing under expectations recently, with such examples of 'Horrible Bosses 2' (down 53.7%), 'Ride Along 2' (down 32.6%), and 'Ted 2' (down 62.8%). If 'Neighbors 2' plays like those films, it will wind up with anywhere between $56 million to $101 million. Seth Rogen and Zac Efron have also seen underwhelming performances from their follow-ups to 'Neighbors', with 'The Night Before' ($43m) and 'Dirty Grandpa' ($35.6m) making less than its opening weekend. However, given the mass appeal of the first film, an opening between those two totals is very likely, though it probably won't break free of the "comedy sequel affect".<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $41.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $110 million</b><br />
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<b>The Nice Guys</b><br />
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If someone asked me what the surprise hits of the summer might be, one of my choices would probably be 'The Nice Guys'. Sure, films not set anywhere in recent times, starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, and opening in a sea of much higher-profile releases are pretty hit-and-miss nowadays, but with promising advertising thus far and the intriguing premise should get this film to break out significantly. It looks like the kind of film that anywhere from the most fussiest of critics and the least demanding of audiences would find satisfying, and if it has that aspect then it certainly has a lot going for it. And if you want a quirky, funny action-packed film full of one-liners, always count on the film's director Shane Black to deliver.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $19 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $65 million</b><br />
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<b>Alice Through the Looking Glass</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<a href="https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/alice-through-the-looking-glass-trailer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/alice-through-the-looking-glass-trailer.jpg" width="320" /></a>Coming in a whopping six years after the $200-million worldwide smash 'Alice in Wonderland' surprised everyone, 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' looks to have a mostly respectable run as well. The big-budget effects-driven fantasy spectacle will attempt to reach the $116.1 million opening and $334.2 million of the original. While it isn't necessarily a remake like the rest of Disney's recent fantasy hits, being a sequel to one of the biggest should help. While star Johnny Depp definitely isn't the kind of person he was back then, he should shine in his widely-appealing fantasy role. A similar example was 2011's 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'. While it didn't come anywhere close to its predecessors, it still managed to hold its own given that it came out four years after the previous franchise low. However, competition is hotter than ever. 'Captain America: Civil War' and 'Angry Birds' will still be in plenty of theaters, 'X-Men: Apocalypse' will take away more mature audiences, 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows' will take away the younger audiences, and 'Finding Dory' will take away the way younger audiences. While this means that the film will likely fall of quickly, 'Alice' should still rack up a solid debut to make up for some of it. Registering in the Top 10 Memorial Day openings is also likely.<br />
<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $70.5 million ($84.5 million four-day)</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $190 million</b><br />
<br />
<b>X-Men: Apocalypse</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/X-Men-Apocalypse-Trailer-1-Cyclops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/X-Men-Apocalypse-Trailer-1-Cyclops.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a><a href="http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news.tops/NEcRcDj9RbhRfi_2_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news.tops/NEcRcDj9RbhRfi_2_b.jpg" height="168" width="320" /></a>Man, it's a huge year for comic book movies isn't it? With 'Deadpool' and 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' already out and 'Captain America: Civil War', this, 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows', 'Suicide Squad', and 'Doctor Strange' still on the way this year, it will definitely be in the Top 5 biggest-grossing years ever. But that's for a much later post. Now back to the main topic. 'X-Men: Apocalypse' will attempt to beat 'X-Men: The Last Stand' for the biggest opening and total of the X-Men franchise that isn't a spin-off (like the Wolverine films or 'Deadpool', which ironically is the biggest film of the franchise). Though it will likely fail to take the title of biggest Memorial Day debut, it should get in the Top 5. With the stakes raised even higher this time around (instead of time-traveling to stop murderous robots, the team must stop a God-like mutant from ravaging the world) and more fan-favorite characters both new and returning from long ago (Jean Grey, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Jubilee, Psylocke, and Archangel among others), this should make a franchise high (for non spin-offs, of course). The last main installment, 'Days of Future Past', was very well-received (as well as 'Deadpool'), so goodwill will likely carry over. And last but not least, the final trailer revealed the unexpected and now much-anticipated return of the man who does what he does best. Are you ready? It's Wolverine.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $109 million ($130.5 million four-day)</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $272.5 million</b><b> </b><br />
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<b> </b>Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-44352173868492031272016-04-17T14:06:00.000-07:002016-04-17T14:06:01.607-07:00Weekend Estimates: Audiences Go Wild for 'The Jungle Book' and Pay a Visit to the 'Barbershop' While 'Criminal' is Missed Coming off of one of the slowest weekends of the year, Disney's big-budget fantasy remake of the 1967 animated classic 'The Jungle Book' easily made the box office rebound, instead delivering one of the year's biggest weekends.<br />
<a href="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTkyNTUxMDczMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTUzNDA4NjE@._V1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTkyNTUxMDczMF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTUzNDA4NjE@._V1_.jpg" height="172" width="320" /></a> Taking first place by storm was the $175-million fantasy remake 'The Jungle Book', which brought in a massive $103.6 million for a robust $25.7k per-theater average. That is Disney's second largest opening in its library of live-action remakes of animated classics, besting 'Oz the Great and Powerful' ($79.1m), 'Maleficent' ($69.4m), and 'Cinderella' ($67.9m) and only falling behind the massive breakout success of 2010's 'Alice in Wonderland' ($116.1m). Riding a wave of solid marketing and incredible reviews going into the weekend as well as more four-quadrant appeal than similar titles, 'Jungle Book' was always going to be a big hit. However, not even the most optimistic of expectations could predict the family-friendly adventure would get this high. It also marks the second biggest April opening of all time, ahead of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' ($95m) and behind 'Furious 7' ($147.2m). It's also the 32nd biggest opening overall, between 'X-Men: The Last Stand' ($102.8m) and 'Shrek 2' ($108m). Among the fantasy genre, it ranks fourth, ahead of 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' ($102.7m) and 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' ($93.7m) and surpassing the lifetime grosses of 'Bridge to Terabithia' and 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice'.<br />
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<a href="http://img.lum.dolimg.com/v1/images/the-jungle-book-022_tg_0020_comp_v0455_right_901f1d6c.jpeg?region=0%2C0%2C1294%2C700" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.lum.dolimg.com/v1/images/the-jungle-book-022_tg_0020_comp_v0455_right_901f1d6c.jpeg?region=0%2C0%2C1294%2C700" height="173" width="320" /></a> Opening with $32.4 million on Friday (including $4.2m from Thursday), 'Jungle Book' rose a significant 26.9% on Saturday and earned $41.1 million, and will fall a slim 27% on Sunday to gross $30 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio here is 3.20-to-1, beating 'Alice' (2.85x), 'Maleficent' (2.86x), and 'Cinderella' (2.95x). With much stronger reviews (95% on RT) and word-of-mouth (92% Flixter score and 'A' CinemaScore), 'Jungle Book' should hold up much stronger than those titles (save for 'Maleficent', which managed to display unusually strong holding power despite middling reviews and word-of-mouth). Still, for the sake of comparison, a multiplier similar to 'Alice' (2.87x) would get it to $297 million while one similar to either 'Oz' or 'Cinderella' (2.96x) would mean a total of $306 million. If it can replicate the legs of 'Maleficent' (3.48x), 'Jungle Book' will wind up with over $360 million. While that certainly is a possibility, it's less likely to happen than if 'Jungle Book' turns out to be quite front-loaded, even with the stellar reception. Outside of the remakes, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and 'Indiana Jones' seem good for comparison. The second one opened with a then record-breaking $135.6 million and went on to earn $423.3 million, representing a 3.12x multiplier. If 'Jungle Book' plays similar to that, it could get close to $325 million. 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' debuted to $100.1 million in 2008 and ended its run with $317.1 million, producing a 3.17x multiplier, which in turn would get 'Jungle Book' close to $330 million. All of those numbers are very solid, and all set a new standard for Disney's live-action remakes of animated classics. Overall, I think $330m+ is very likely to happen.<br />
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In a distant but mostly solid second place, the $20-million ensemble led comedy threequel 'Barbershop: The Next Cut' opened with $20.2 million for a respectable $7.6k per-theater average. Coming out 12 years after the last installment in the 'Barbershop' series (11 counting its spin-off, 'Beauty Shop'), expectations were kept in check for 'Next Cut' with projections ranging from $15m-$25m, but as the weekend approached predictions went as high as $30 million due to the stronger-than-expected reviews. While it failed to break out beyond the genre norm, it still performed quite well given that comedy sequels with massive gaps between release dates usually underwhelm or come in much lower than its predecessors. Such examples are 2014's 'Dumb and Dumber To' ($86.2m compared to the first's $127.2m) and February's 'Zoolander 2' ($28.8m compared to the first's $45.2m), and fortunately 'Barbershop' managed to avoid their fates. Instead, it played very similarly to the first 'Barbershop', which opened to $20.6 million back in 2002. Adjusted for inflation, though, its performance is much less impressive.<br />
On Friday, the PG-13 rated comedy opened with $7.1 million (including $735k from Thursday night), increased a healthy 16.6% on Saturday to earn 8.2 million, and should fall 39.9% on Sunday for $4.9 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio is 2.85-to-1, or better than the 2.54-to-1 ratio of 'Dumb and Dumber To'. That film ultimately made $86.2 million in the long run. While 'Next Cut' will likely fail to top that number, much stronger reviews (92% on RT) and word-of-mouth (78% Flixter rating and 'A-' CinemaScore) should propel it with much better legs. A total of at least $55 million is likely for the mid-budget comedy.<br />
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In third and fourth, critical duds 'The Boss' and 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' fell off sharply. The former took in $10.2 million, down an unimpressive 56.9% from its better-than-expected opening. So far, the $29-million R-rated comedy has grossed $40.4 million and will look to be star Melissa McCarthy's most front-loaded film yet. However, it should still make a profit against its modest price tag and will likely end its run with around $65 million. Meanwhile, the latter slid even more, dropping a steep 61.4% from last weekend and raking in $9 million. With $311.3 million in the bank, the $250-million superhero tentpole has displayed horrible holding power, and will probably barely double its opening, which calls to mind the 2009 superhero movie 'Watchmen', which couldn't even do just that. With 'Huntsman: Winter's War' raiding theaters next weekend and brutal competition in May that features the likes of 'Captain America: Civil War' and 'X-Men: Apocalypse', it should continue to fall off quickly. At this rate, it's unlikely it will reach $350 million domestically.<br />
The $150-million animated hit 'Zootopia' held up well in the shadow of 'Jungle Book', slipping 42.6% and making $8.2 million. 'Zootopia' has grossed a very impressive $307.5 million, and, with the debut of 'Jungle Book' behind, will likely continue holding up well through the rest of April and possibly through May until 'The Angry Birds Movie' debuts. $335 million should be a lock at this point.<br />
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In a disappointing sixth place, the $31.5-million action thriller 'Criminal' flopped with just $5.9 million. Unfortunately, the all-star cast and thought-provoking premise weren't enough to convince most audiences to pay for the violent R-rated film, and terrible reviews probably didn't help. This debut calls to mind similar duds like last July's 'Self/Less', which opened to a terrible $5.4 million on a $26 million budget, and February's 'Triple 9', which debuted to an awful $6.1 million on a $20-million budget. Obviously, 'Criminal' is much less impressive than those titles given the much stronger cast and bigger budget.<br />
Kicking things off with a $2.1 million Friday debut (including $235k), 'Criminal' rose 11.7% on Saturday for $2.3 million and is expected to drop 35.2% on Sunday for $1.5 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio here is 2.81-to-1, which is worse than the 2.90-to-1 ratio of 'Triple 9' but better than the 2.70-to-1 ratio of 'Self/Less'. With bad critical reception (26% on RT) and middling word-of-mouth ('B-' CinemaScore and 60% Flixter score), the legs on this one seem to be very short. It shouldn't make much more than $15 million total.<br />
'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' eased 49.7% from last weekend, grossing $3.3 million. The $18-million romantic comedy sequel has so far grossed a solid $52.1 million, and should cross $60 million before the end of its run. 'Miracles from Heaven' placed in eighth, plummeting 59.6% after losing 730 locations this weekend. The $13-million faith-based drama made $1.9 million, adding on to its $56.9 million cume. $65 million total should be in reach by now. Meanwhile, fellow faith-based drama 'God's Not Dead 2' continued its underwhelming run, falling 59.6% for $1.7 million. Its total now stands at an unimpressive $17 million, but with its $5 million budget it doesn't really matter if it fell below expectations. It should inch past $20 million before it disappears from theaters.<br />
'Eye in the Sky' held fairly steady, dropping a solid 46.1% and making $1.6 million. The military thriller starring Helen Mirren has so far made $13.1 million, and $20 million might still be a possibility. Meanwhile, 'Hardcore Henry' plummeted an absolutely awful 71% from its already terrible opening, making just $1.5 million. Soft word-of-mouth ('C+' CinemaScore) and a general lack of appeal is likely the reason the $10-million first-person action film is getting crushed. and with only $8.2 million so far $15 million is no longer a guarantee.<br />
Rounding out the Top 12, 'The Divergent Series: Allegiant' continued its disappointing run, making $1.3 million and falling 63%. The $110-million YA sequel has made just $63.9 million through five weeks of play, and should ultimately cross $75 million before the end of its run.<br />
The Top 12 this weekend grossed an outstanding $168.3 million, up a whopping 76.6% from last weekend's lackluster total and up a promising 50.2% from last year when 'Furious 7' three-peated in first while 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2', 'Unfriended', and 'Monkey Kingdom' had modest debuts while 'True Story' bombed.<br />
Next weekend, 'The Jungle Book' should have no problem fending off newcomers 'The Huntsman: Winter's War' and 'Elvis & Nixon' to remain in first place. The former looks to have a quiet debut in second, as it seems to be in theaters at the wrong time, being sandwiched between 'Jungle Book' and 'Captain America' and all. Meanwhile, not much is expected from 'Elvis & Nixon', which might find itself in fourth or fifth place.<br />
Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-9729809505475782922016-04-10T16:17:00.002-07:002016-04-11T16:17:09.844-07:00Weekend Estimates: Melissa McCarthy is 'The Boss', 'Batman v Superman' Continues Falling Off and 'Henry' Doesn't Go 'Hardcore' On the second slowest weekend of the year, 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' relinquished the top spot to a much lower-profile, more light-hearted film. <br />
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Continuing Melissa McCarthy's streak of $20m+ openers, the $29-million comedy 'The Boss' exceeded most expectations and opened to a solid $23.6 million for a $6.8k per-theater average. That opening is slightly better than the 2014 R-rated comedy 'Tammy', which debuted to $21.6 million (although it should be noted 'Tammy' opened on a Wednesday). While it fell behind the likes of 'Identity Thief' ($34.6m), 'The Heat' ($39.1m), and 'Spy' ($29.1m), it was never really expected to match those films given that the premise seemed less accessible than those titles. This is just more proof that Melissa McCarthy is one of the more consistent box office leads in recent years, as very few actors or actresses can maintain a healthy streak of $20m+ openings. However, her drawing power is sure to be tested in July when the 'Ghostbusters' reboot opens, and with the trailer receiving overwhelmingly negative reaction, it's definitely going to be important to see how that one plays.<br />
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On Friday 'The Boss' earned $8.1 million, increased 20.5% on Saturday to gross $9.8 million, and fell 41.3% on Sunday to make $5.7 million. That places the weekend-to-Friday ratio at 2.91-to-1, which is behind 'Identity Thief' (3.12-to-1) and 'Tammy' (3.38-to-1) but an improvement over 'The Heat' (2.85-to-1) and 'Spy' (2.83-to-1). However, while those films were exceptionally leggy in the long run, 'The Boss' will have to put up with horrible reviews (17% on RT) and mixed word-of-mouth (50% Flixter rating as well as a 'C+' CinemaScore). Obviously, the closest comparison here is 'Tammy', which scored a 23% Tomatometer and a 37% Flixter score to go along with its 'C+' CinemaScore but managed to rake in $84.5 million total for a 3.91x multiplier. Should 'The Boss' play similar to 'Tammy', it could possibly get over $90 million. While that certainly is a possibility (there is a significant difference between Flixter scores), critical reviews might hold off the more casual moviegoers instead of McCarthy's established fanbase. Still, it's hard imagining this not getting past $70 million, but $100 million is certainly out of the question.<br />
'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' continued falling off sharply this weekend, this time dropping 54.5% for $23.4 million. For the sake of comparisons, that third weekend gross is less than 'Furious 7''s $29.2 million (-51.1%) and 'Iron Man 3''s $35.8 million (-50.7%). Poor critical reception and middling word-of-mouth keep on affecting the $250-million comic book adaptation's staying power, both here and overseas. Its $296.6 million is nothing to be ashamed of though, and with $784.3 million worldwide already, it should turn into a profit. Still, at this point predicting a $370 million total would be going to high, and at this rate it is likely the film will fall short of $950 million total.<br />
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On the bright side, 'Zootopia' held steady again, falling just 25.8% for $14.3 million. That is the eighth biggest sixth weekend on record, and outpaces the $7.4 million sixth weekend of last year's 'Inside Out'. With a strong $296 million in the bank so far, $340 million is a guarantee at this point. 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' took a hit from 'The Boss' this weekend, falling 42.3% to gross $6.5 million. Its domestic cume is now up to $46.8 million, and should make it to $65 million before the end of its run.<br />
In a softer-than-expected fifth place, the $10-million first-person actioner 'Hardcore Henry' made a paltry $5.1 million for a weak $1.7k PTA. That marks the lowest start for distributor STX Entertainment, falling behind the $6.7 million of November bomb 'The Secret in their Eyes' and making up less than half of the studio's hits 'The Gift' ($11.9m) and 'The Boy' ($10.8m). Expectations ranged from $7m-$10m, making this performance even less impressive. It was always a risky move with its first-person aspect, but it ultimately failed to get its target audience (gamers) to get up off the couch and purchase a movie ticket. STX will hope to redeem itself with the June releases 'The Bye Bye Man' and 'Free State of Jones'.<br />
<a href="http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/images/c_fill,h_1080,w_1920/t_mp_quality/zoekrxjs9ldljvh4cfpb/the-new-hardcore-henry-trailer-is-freaking-mind-blowing-880044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/images/c_fill,h_1080,w_1920/t_mp_quality/zoekrxjs9ldljvh4cfpb/the-new-hardcore-henry-trailer-is-freaking-mind-blowing-880044.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a> Opening on Friday with $2 million, 'Henry' fell 7.1% on Saturday to earn $1.9 million and declined 33.3% for $1.2 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio is an discouraging 2.55-to-1. With mixed reviews (51% on RT) and word-of-mouth ('C+' CinemaScore), it should make less than $15 million total.<br />
The Top 12 this weekend grossed a lackluster $95.1 million, down 22.6% from last weekend and 24.3% from last year when 'Furious 7' repeated in first while 'The Longest Ride' and 'Ex Machina' opened. Next weekend will be much busier, with the big-budget remake of the animated classic 'The Jungle Book' looking to take the top spot while 'Barbershop: The Next Cut' will go up against 'The Boss' for the top comedy and the action thriller 'Criminal' will hope to provide solid counter-programming against all of those films. Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-39163640462041561932016-04-04T15:03:00.002-07:002016-04-04T15:58:12.726-07:00Weekend Actuals: 'Batman v Superman' Bleeds but Still Leads While 'God's Not Dead 2' Underwhelms With a very unimpressive hold, 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' easily kept the box office crown on its head this weekend as the two new wide releases failed to make much of an impact.<br />
<a href="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Batman-V-Superman-Trailer-Fight-Heat-Vision.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Batman-V-Superman-Trailer-Fight-Heat-Vision.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a> Retaining first place was the $250-million DC tentpole 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', which crashed in its second outing. The follow-up to the 2013 hit 'Man of Steel' plummeted a steep 69.1% from its record opening to $51.3 million. While that is the 26th biggest second weekend of all time, that drop is a very concerning one. The only comic book movies that have suffered worse drops were 'Steel' (-78%), 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army' (-70.7%), 'Jonah Hex', and 'Hulk' (both -69.7%). It faced a steeper decline than 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' (-59.4%), 'The Dark Knight Rises' (-61.4%), 'Iron Man 3' (-58.4%), 'Man of Steel' (-64.6%), 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' (-69%), 'Watchmen' (-67.7%), and even the 2015 flop 'Fantastic Four' (-68.2%). Unfortunately, this means that, excluding the built-in fanbase, casual moviegoers are being turned of by the terrible reviews and mixed word-of-mouth. Still, the superhero mashup flick has now generated a muscular $260.4 million in only two weeks, but it will have to stabilize next weekend to make much more than $360 million, which is kind of sad since that would only be a margin between its and 'Deadpool''s gross, which had a much lower profile going into the weekend.<br />
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'Zootopia' held steady in second place, decreasing a slim 19.6% for $19.3 million. That's a spectacular hold, as the $150-million animated original continues to benefit from spectacular reviews, word-of-mouth, and a lack of competition. With $275.3 million in the bank, 'Zootopia' will hold up solidly one more time next week before Disney releases the family-oriented 'The Jungle Book' on April 15 (which is getting very positive reaction from critics so far). Still, it should pass the $300 million mark in the next two weeks, and a total north of $335 million is a guarantee.<br />
'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' rounded out the unchanged Top 3, grossing $11.2 million and falling a solid 37.2% from its already strong opening. The $18-million rom-com sequel has now grossed an encouraging $36.6 million, and will attempt to hold up well next week when the female-targeting Melissa McCarthy starrer 'The Boss' rolls into theaters. With that said, a total north of $60 million should still be in reach.<br />
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'God's Not Dead 2' was placed in an uneventful fourth place, grossing $7.6 million. The $5-million faith-based sequel to the 2014 sleeper hit failed to build upon the original's fanbase and suffered from a general lack of interest. While reviews probably had only a minor impact on the film's performance, they weren't as good as the previous entry (which already had a terrible 15% RT rating). Word-of-mouth was also much more mixed (just 59% on Flixter), which obviously caused it to be much more front-loaded than the original. What's even more disappointing was that the sequel opened in significantly more locations, but managed to fall below the $9.2 million debut of the original. Still, with its modest price tag in mind, this is anything but a flop. A disappointment, maybe, but not a flop.<br />
'God's Not Dead 2' opened with $2.9 million on Friday (including $400k from Thursday), fell a concerning 8.1% on Saturday to gross $2.7 million, and dropped another 26% on Sunday to make $2 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio here is a middling 2.62-to-1, which is way worse than the 3.29-to-1 ratio of the first one. It's unlikely to retain the 6.61x multiplier its predecessor snagged, and it likely won't even get half of that. In that case, $20 million and up is likely for the faith-based sequel, which would be a solid result for the studio but much less impressive compared to the $60.8 million total of the original.<br />
Fellow PG-rated faith-based drama 'Miracles from Heaven' continued to hold up well in fifth, dropping just 25.2% and making $7.3 million. The $13-million "based on a true story" film starring Jennifer Garner is likely to continue holding up well thanks to healthy word-of-mouth and the underwhelming debut of 'God's Not Dead 2', and $60 million should be a lock.<br />
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'The Divergent Series: Allegiant' continued its unimpressive run, declining 38.9% and grossing $5.8 million. The $110-million threequel in the YA franchise has so far made just $56.4 million, which is just over what its predecessors did in their opening weekends. Unfortunately, this one should peter out at around $70 million, which is a major step down from the previous entries and puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the final installment next summer.<br />
Some good news to counter that bad news is that the $15-million sci-fi thriller '10 Cloverfield Lane' held up very nicely, easing 23.2% and making $4.6 million. The Bad Robot success has made a strong $63.4 million in four weeks of play, and might make it over $70 million total, which would put it not far behind the $80-million total of its 2008 predecessor.<br />
Freestyle's 'Meet the Blacks' posted a decent opening in eighth, grossing $4.1 million from 1,015 locations and earning a higher per-theater average than 'God's Not Dead 2' ($4k vs. $3.2k). While it failed to break out among the disappointing grosses of recent spoofs like 'Fifty Shades of Black' and 'Scary Movie 5', it did manage to come in slightly ahead of expectations, and with its low budget in mind it performed rather solidly.<br />
<a href="http://dl9fvu4r30qs1.cloudfront.net/4a/c8/23fd228e42ea87d46a5dd091a7c3/meet-the-blacks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://dl9fvu4r30qs1.cloudfront.net/4a/c8/23fd228e42ea87d46a5dd091a7c3/meet-the-blacks.jpg" height="181" width="320" /></a> 'Blacks' grossed $1.4 million on Friday, increased a strong 13.3% on Saturday and grossed $1.6 million, and fell 37.2% and made $1 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio here is a strong 2.93-to-1, which is ironically better than the other new wide opener this weekend. However, reviews and word-of-mouth are scathing (17% on RT and 29% on Flixter), so the chances of this holding up well are slim. Still, it should do better than the multipliers of 'Fifty Shades' and 'Scary Movie', which will get it to at least $10 million total.<br />
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/film/irrationalman/mirrensky-xlarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/film/irrationalman/mirrensky-xlarge.jpg" height="199" width="320" /></a> 'Eye in the Sky' followed closely in ninth with $4 million, up a very strong 324.9% from last weekend. The military drone thriller starring Helen Mirren expanded into 1,029 locations this weekend and was met with promising results. With universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike, 'Eye in the Sky' should continue to hold up well and expand in the coming weeks as it has now totaled a very respectable $6.1 million.<br />
The Top 12 this weekend gathered $122.8 million, down a sharp 49.9% from last weekend most likely because of the steep drop last week's and this week's champion experienced. It was also down a sizable 43.6% from last year when 'Furious 7' exploded to the top spot with a then record Easter opening.<br />
Next weekend features the likes of the aforementioned 'The Boss', which will attempt to replicate the success of McCarthy's previous outings, and STX's 'Hardcore Henry', which uniquely brings the first-person perspective recognizable in shooters like 'Call of Duty' and 'Halo' to the big screen for the first time. In limited release are the Jake Gyllenhaal led 'Demolition' and Anna Kendrick/Sam Rockwell led 'Mr. Right'.Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-79701932481398766692016-04-02T13:05:00.002-07:002016-04-02T14:32:35.468-07:00Friday Report: 'Batman v Superman' Falls But Still Leads, 'God's Not Dead 2' Underperform All hopes that the superhero blockbuster 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' would be critic-proof and immune to mixed word-of-mouth were eliminated this weekend as the box office juggernaut fell harder than even the most front-loaded of them all. Opening this weekend were 'God's Not Dead 2' and 'Meet the Blacks', with the former coming in below expectations and the latter coming in ahead of them.<br />
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Easily retaining first place on Friday, DC's $250-million superhero tentpole 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' plummeted an awful 81.2% from its massive opening day to gross $15.4 million. Horrid reviews and middling word-of-mouth is obviously having an effect on the film, as it now looks like only the big fans and some casual moviegoers are checking it out at this point. That huge drop is worse than 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' (-74.9%), 'The Dark Knight Rises' (-76.6%), 'Spider-Man 3' (-71.3%), 'Man of Steel' (-71.5%), 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine' (-75.8%), 'Watchmen' (-78.4%), 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army' (-76.1%), and even the 2015 flop 'Fantastic Four' (-78.2%). In fact, it's the worst drop for a big-budget comic book movie in history! Three of the previously mentioned films had worse critic or audience scores ('Wolverine', 'Fant4stic', and 'Watchmen', although it's going to come in lower than the latter by next week), which makes this even more embarassing. However, the mega-budget superhero mashup has so far grossed a strong $224.4 million in two weeks, which ranks as the 11th biggest eight-day gross ever. Expect a sophomore frame of around $50 million, which is a solid figure when you're looking at just the grosses but disappointing once you factor in the percentage drops.<br />
'Zootopia' remained in second place this weekend, grossing an estimated $5.6 million on Friday and dropping a solid 41.5% from last week. The $150-million animated dramedy from Walt Disney Animation Studios has grossed a very impressive $261.5 million in 29 days of release, and should make around $20 million for the weekend. 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' continued to occupy third with $3.4 million, down a slightly concerning 53.3% from opening day. However, it should have strong holds going through the weekend, and with $28.8 million already, it shouldn't disappoint. A weekend of around $11 million is likely. <br />
<a href="http://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Godsnotdead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Godsnotdead.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a> 'God's Not Dead 2' came in below expectations yesterday, grossing $3 million (including $400k from Thursday night showings). Despite opening in about three times as many locations, there just wasn't a need for another one of these films, especially since there's already a couple strong faith-based performers in the market place already that are doing more memorable business. Its Friday haul was just ahead of the impressive $2.8 million take of its 2014 predecessor, and adjusting for inflation just makes it look even worse. However, this shouldn't be considered a loss as its production budget is a mere $5 million, and it will easily make that back in the next couple of days. However, when it comes to expectations, this is a slight disappointment as many projected a $10m-$15m debut. Instead, $8 million seems more doable. <br />
In a dismal seventh place, Freestyle's 'Meet the Black's played like many recent spoofs and brought in $1.4 million. That's below January's 'Fifty Shades of Black', which opened to a poor $2.3 million on its way to a $5.9 million. Should 'Blacks' follow that films patter, a $3.5 million weekend is in store. However, given that there isn't a Tomatometer score for it yet and early word-of-mouth is extremely negative (27% on RT), a weekend of around $3 million is more likely.<br />
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<u><b>Weekend Forecast</b></u></div>
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1. 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' - $51.8 million (-68.8%)</div>
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2. 'Zootopia' - $19.7 million (-17.9%)</div>
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3. 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' - $11.6 million (-35.2%)</div>
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4. 'God's Not Dead 2' - $8.3 million</div>
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5. 'Miracles from Heaven' - $8 million (-17.5%)</div>
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-. 'Meet the Blacks' - $3.2 million</div>
Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-13029784064908562882016-04-02T11:40:00.004-07:002016-04-02T13:13:32.640-07:00Monthly Forecast: April 2016After March's strong performers like 'Zootopia', '10 Cloverfield Lane', and of course 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', April looks to be a bit quieter, but with promising contenders like 'The Boss', 'Hardcore Henry', 'The Jungle Book', and 'Keanu', it should still find itself in the Top 10 April grosses of all time. I'm excluding 'God's Not Dead 2' and 'Meet the Blacks' since Friday figures came in yesterday, which I will write about in a separate article today.<br />
<br />
<b>The Boss</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/boss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/boss.jpg" height="167" width="320" /></a>This should kick off April's slew of potential blockbusters. Melissa McCarthy is a very powerful draw at the box office. Ever since the breakout success of 2011's 'Bridesmaids', McCarthy has starred in numerous original hits like 'Identity Thief' ($134.5m), 'The Heat' ($159.6m), and 'Spy' ($110.8m). Even when her films don't reach $100 million domestically, studios shouldn't be shedding tears over the $84.5 million total of 2014's 'Tammy'. What's even more eye-popping is that none of those films have opened to more than $40 million, which means that McCarthy's films generally pertain excellent holding power throughout their runs thanks to (usually) strong reviews and (almost certainly) healthy word-of-mouth. Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, and Kathy Bates should also provide some starpower to appeal to their own respective fanbases. However, although all of her post-'Bridesmaids' films have been successful, a steady decline in grosses is also notable. The aforementioned 'Spy' and 'Tammy' failed to make as much of an impact as 'Heat' and 'Identity Thief', which may be a sign of McCarthy's fading drawing power. However, it's hard to think that this will be totally worthless, and an opening and total above $15 million and $50 million is pretty much a guarantee.<br />
<b> Predicted Opening: $17 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $63 million</b><br />
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<b>Hardcore Henry</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/erikkain/files/2016/02/Hardcore-Henry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blogs-images.forbes.com/erikkain/files/2016/02/Hardcore-Henry.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a>Predicting the grosses for this one is going to be tough. I mean, there isn't anything like it. 'Hardcore Henry' is the first theatrical film that utilizes the first-person perspective for an entire movie. Buzz for this film is pretty encouraging, with a decent +95% want-to-see rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also earned 13.2 million views on STX Entertainment's YouTube channel, with a 30-to-1 like-to-dislike ratio. Gamers could also be interested in putting down the controller and going to the movies because of the said first-person perspective, which seems as if it will appeal to that kind of audience specifically. Reviews are also pretty positive with an 89% rating on RT, although the average rating is a concerning 6.1/10. Casual audiences might also think that this will just be too annoying and uncomfortable to sit through in a big movie theater, so they might want to sit out on this. However, STX has only had one miss ('Secret in their Eyes'), and 'Hardcore' should join the likes of 'The Gift' and 'The Boy' as the growing library of hits belonging to STX.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $11.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $29.5 million</b><br />
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<b>Barbershop: The Next Cut</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.trbimg.com/img-56535f60/turbine/ct-barbershop-the-next-cut-to-touch-on-chicago-violence-20151123" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-56535f60/turbine/ct-barbershop-the-next-cut-to-touch-on-chicago-violence-20151123" height="213" width="320" /></a>No one's really expecting much from the threequel in the once-popular 'Barbershop' franchise. The first two did very well, exceeding expectations everywhere. The first one in 2002 opened with an excellent $20.6 million, held up well, and finished with $75.8 million. The second was a bit less leggy, but was a strong opener nevertheless with $24.2 million and a grand total of $65.1 million. And it only gets better from there when you take into account ticket price inflation. The cast is pretty stacked, which gives it a lot of appeal. Ice Cube has built up an even greater following in recent years thanks to 'Ride Along' and 'Straight Outta Compton', Cedric the Entertainer keeps his reputation alive thanks to the hit sitcom 'The Soul Man', Regina Hall is recognizable from the 'Scary Movie' franchise, Anthony Anderson and Deon Cole star in the popular sitcom 'Black-ish', and Eve, Nicki Minaj, and Common are draws for the obvious reasons. However, long-awaited comedy sequels don't necessarily translate into bigger grosses. For example, 'Dumb and Dumber To' ended its run with a solid $86.2 million, but fell below the $127.2 million total of the 1994 original. 'Zoolander 2' did worse, failing to reach even the $15.5 million debut of its 2001 predecessor, and inflation only makes it more laughable. Ultimately, while it won't be an outright bomb, I just don't see it climbing too high both in opening grosses and closing grosses.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $14 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $34 million</b><br />
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<b>Criminal</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://25o2zicw5jz372nu42fxtly6.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Criminal-2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://25o2zicw5jz372nu42fxtly6.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Criminal-2016.jpg" height="170" width="320" /></a>Coming off the poorly received 'Self/Less', studios want to see if audiences still care for star-studded action movies featuring someone's conscious getting put into someone else's body. This one arguably has more starpower, as not only does it have 'Self/Less' star Ryan Reynolds (who also redeemed himself with 'Deadpool'), Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, and the new Wonder Woman Gal Gadot make major appearances in the movie as well. The premise is definitely intriguing (CIA operative's memories transferred to a dangerous criminal to recover important details), so casual moviegoers might at least read up on it. However, Costner isn't the draw he was back then, and has failed to bring any break-out hits these past couple years. The same goes for the rest of the cast members, as 'Paranoia' (Oldman), 'The Family' (Jones), and 'Triple 9' (Gadot) have all underwhelmed or bombed. Still, this should outdo all of those on opening weekend, and could even pass the totals of 'Paranoia' and 'Triple 9' in one weekend.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $13 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $34.5 million</b><br />
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<b>The Jungle Book</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/the-jungle-book/junglebook0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/the-jungle-book/junglebook0007.jpg" height="186" width="320" /></a>It looks like Disney has another hit on its hands. The latest in the franchise of live-action remakes of the studio's popular animated tales, the long-awaited adaptation of 'The Jungle Book' will most likely make an interesting entrance when it opens on April 15. Disney has had huge successes with past live-action remakes, kicking things off with 'Alice in Wonderland' (whose sequel opens this May), which blew away expectations and grossed an outstanding $116.1 million and finished it off with $334.2 million, becoming Disney's tenth highest-grossing film domestically. 2014's 'Maleficent' followed, as the Angelina Jolie starrer also demolished expectations and earned $69.4 million, topping out at an impressive $241.4 million. 'Cinderella' is the latest hit, opening on the first weekend of March 2015 with $67.9 million and closing with $201.2 million. It also helps that the original 'Jungle Book' is one of Disney's highest-grossing animated classics ever with $141.8 million (including $68.1m from two re-issues in 1984 and 1990). Adjusted for inflation, it ranks 32nd with a whopping $641 million. Although it doesn't actually show the actors, the voice cast is very impressive, with Scarlett Johansson (the Marvel Cinematic Universe), Idris Elba ('Thor' franchise), Lupita Nyong'o ('Star Wars: The Force Awakens'), Ben Kingsley ('Gandhi', 'Shutter Island'), Christopher Walken ('The Deer Hunter'), and Bill Murray ('Ghostbusters'). One worrying factor though is the declining grosses of each remake. 'Maleficent' came in 27.8% below 'Alice', and 'Cinderella' fell 16.7% off of the former. One major concern is that 'Jungle Book' will continue the declining grosses. It opens just one week from fellow big-budget fantasy 'The Hunstman: Winter's War', and will have to compete for family audiences with 'Captain America: Civil War' and 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' in May, which will most likely hurt its staying power. It's likely that the film will subvert these cons and become a very strong performer throughout its run, and has the potential to pass 'Cinderella' and put an end to the streak of declining grosses.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $70 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $235 million </b><br />
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<b>Elvis & Nixon</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTE0Mjk5MzY4NTleQTJeQWpwZ15BbWU4MDg2NDA2Njcx._V1_CR0,59,640,360_AL_UX477_CR0,0,477,268_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTE0Mjk5MzY4NTleQTJeQWpwZ15BbWU4MDg2NDA2Njcx._V1_CR0,59,640,360_AL_UX477_CR0,0,477,268_AL_.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a>This should make a much more modest impact on the box office. The cast looks great, with Michael Shannon ('Man of Steel', 'Midnight Special') and Kevin Spacey ('Se7en', 'American Beauty') in the titular roles with promising co-stars Alex Pettyfer ('Magic Mike'), Johnny Knoxville ('Bad Grandpa'), Colin Hanks (sitcom 'Life in Pieces'), Evan Peters ('X-Men: Apocalypse'), and Ashley Benson ('Spring Breakers'). However, the director isn't well-known, and its R-rating could restrict younger audiences who are interested in the topic from seeing it. The 70's setting doesn't help either, as old-timey films have struggled to attract audiences recently ('Hail, Caesar!', 'The Finest Hours'). Awareness is pretty low, as only 500 users have voted on the want-to-see poll on Rotten Tomatoes, and even then only 88% want to go out and watch this. Overall, this just doesn't look like it will do too well, and as a result I have low expectations.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $5.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $19 million</b><br />
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<b>The Huntsman: Winter's War</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/i/2015/11/17/the-huntsman-winters-war_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/i/2015/11/17/the-huntsman-winters-war_0.jpg" height="198" width="320" /></a>This big-budget prequel/sequel/spin-off to the 2012 hit 'Snow White and the Huntsman' has low prospects, most likely because it just doesn't look that appealing. Despite the admirable cast, 'Huntsman' seems like a generic fantasy movie with tons of CGI and lots of fast-paced action. The absence of Kristen Stewart will likely turn off younger fans, and it opens just one week after the highly-anticipated 'The Jungle Book' and two weeks before the mega-blockbuster 'Captain America: Civil War'. While it shouldn't make too much of a dent in its performance, its similarity to 'Frozen' could make the film come across as more childish and immature than the dark brooding film Universal wants it to be. Sure, maybe the older fans of the animated hit might turn up, but besides them and the original's fanbase, reaching out to moviegoers is going to be pretty tough considering that there are many other more better-looking films out there.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $23.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $58 million</b><br />
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<b>Keanu</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2pIQVzn57is/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2pIQVzn57is/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a>Based on the comedy of funnymen and Comedy Central stars Key & Peele, 'Keanu' brings the duo to the big screen for the first time, tasking them with taking back a kidnapped famous kitten. Both the stars and the premise should be enough to draw in some curious moviegoers and a notable portion of their fanbase, and the marketing so far is trying to reach out to just those kinds of people. After so many raunchy comedies about hangovers are starring Seth Rogen, this one looks like a breath of fresh air given that this premise has basically been unheard of. Cats also somehow have a way with creating a lot of buzz on social media, and a major movie that centers around one will definitely become a conversation topic in the weeks to come. However, although they may have a large fanbase, Key & Peele are literally unproven box office draws. They may have made cameos here and there, but it would be unreasonable to think audiences spent money on a movie ticket just to see a couple seconds of their favorite comedians in the theater. The amount of competition is also a bit worrying, as it opens two weeks after 'Barbershop: The Next Cut' and just one week before 80% of audiences will be occupied with 'Captain America: Civil War'. While that could hurt its holding power, it shouldn't translate into a horrible opening weekend, which in turn could lead to a profitable run.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $21 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $51.5 million</b><br />
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<b>Mother's Day</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/e1OfV.CXW6rjuRpceOv2_Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9MTIwMDtoPTk5NTtpbD1wbGFuZQ--/http://l.yimg.com/cd/resizer/2.0/FIT_TO_WIDTH-w1200/dc24450bd6f3b90c5f9bdf30ec379cf825717d2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/e1OfV.CXW6rjuRpceOv2_Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9MTIwMDtoPTk5NTtpbD1wbGFuZQ--/http://l.yimg.com/cd/resizer/2.0/FIT_TO_WIDTH-w1200/dc24450bd6f3b90c5f9bdf30ec379cf825717d2a.jpg" width="320" /></a>Ever heard of Garry Marshall? He's the guy who brought you holiday-themed romantic comedies 'Valentine's Day' and 'New Year's Eve', both received very negatively by audiences and critics alike. The former holds an 18% RT critics rating and a 47% Flixter score while the latter has just 7% on RT and 45% on Flixter. Not to mention that, although 'Valentine's Day' performed very strongly, 'New Year's Eve' fell of significantly from its "predecessor's" gross. 'Valentine's Day' made more in one weekend what 'New Year's' did in its entire run! Just like those films, it boasts a very impressive lineup of stars, including Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts, and Jason Sudeikis. Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily mean the film's going to be an outright blockbuster. Aniston's recent track record is pretty inconsistent, Kate Hudson isn't a proven draw at the box office, Roberts hasn't starred in a movie that's grossed over $80 million since 2010, and Sudeikis is also pretty hit and miss. Overall, don't be surprised if it ends up opening lower than $15 million, but it admittedly does have potential to be quite leggy in the long run.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $11 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $36 million</b><br />
<br />
<b>Ratchet & Clank</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://40.media.tumblr.com/c54509672608c1c614647b8d78a9e29b/tumblr_nvszvzfimy1sasycvo1_1280.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://40.media.tumblr.com/c54509672608c1c614647b8d78a9e29b/tumblr_nvszvzfimy1sasycvo1_1280.png" width="320" /></a>Based on a long-running video game franchise that hasn't had a new entry in nearly three years, showing off an impressive voice cast, marketed with lots of cheesy taglines and jokes, riddled with low anticipation and mixed expectations, and overall positive reception from the trailers, this looks like it will do modestly. Not good, not bad. Just modestly. While there may still be fans of the series, the aforementioned latest installment came out in November 2013, and only now a movie's coming out? The voice cast shouldn't be looked over though, with stand-outs such as Rosario Dawson, Paul Giamatti, John Goodman, Sylvester Stallone, and Bella Thorne. The marketing is pretty cheesy, which will definitely entice kids to see it but will ultimately make the adults make the final decision. If you look on the forum on Rotten Tomatoes, expectations aren't great, but aren't terrible either. Plus, a +92% want-to-see rating is a bit low, although this is arguably one of the more low-profile films coming out this month. The reception to the trailers was overwhelmingly positive however, so it has that going for it. Just expect this film to do decent at the box office. No opening over $10 million or under $5 million would be reasonable, and a total of no more than $30 million and no less than $10 million would also be plausible.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $8.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $23.5 million</b>Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-38896444833491113192016-03-28T18:30:00.000-07:002016-03-28T18:30:07.623-07:00Weekend Estimates: 'Batman v Superman' Blows Up March Opening Record, 'Zootopia' Settles for Second While 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' Plays Solidly History was made today, mainly because of the very impressive performance of DC's superhero tentpole 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', which delivered one of the biggest opening weekends of all time. Also opening with respectable numbers was 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2', which managed to become solid counter-programming after a massive 14-year gap between installments.<br />
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DC's $250-million superhero team-up film 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' opened with a massive $166 million, which ranks sixth all time, and a $39.1k per-theater average, which ranks seventh all time for wide opening weekends. This marks a successful follow-up to the 2013 hit 'Man of Steel' ($291m), grossing well over half of that film's total in just one weekend. The huge opening is also the biggest for a Batman film, a Superman film, a DC film, a March/spring film, and a film that opened on Easter. Among all superhero films, 'Dawn of Justice' debuted ahead of 'The Dark Knight Rises' ($160.9m), 'The Dark Knight' ($158.4m), and 'Spider-Man 3' ($151.1m) and below 'Iron Man 3' ($174.1m), 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' ($191.3m), and 'Marvel's The Avengers' ($207.4m). It barely missed 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2' ($169.2m) for the title of the biggest WB opener of all time, but it did take down 'The Hunger Games' ($152.5m) and 'Furious 7' ($147.2m) for the biggest March/spring and Easter opening of all time. Despite being a critical dud and the lukewarm reception of 'Man of Steel', audiences were still excited to see Bats and Supes duke it out with Wonder Woman joining the line-up for the first time in cinema. However, even then audiences weren't exactly raving about it. So far, it overtook 'Deadpool' for the biggest 2016 opening, but that position will be in jeopardy once 'Captain America: Civil War' arrives in theaters on May 6.<br />
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<a href="http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-1400694960/batsignal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net/assets/uploads/gallery/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-1400694960/batsignal.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.space.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Batman-v-Superman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.space.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Batman-v-Superman.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a> On Friday, 'Dawn of Justice' earned a humongous $81.6 million (including an impressive $27.7m from Thursday), declined a sizable 37.9% on Saturday to make $50.7 million, and fell 33.3% on Sunday to gross $33.8 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio is a very concerning 2.03-to-1, which is worse than the 2.18-to-1 ratio of 'Furious 7' (which also opened on Easter) and a little below the 2.08-to-1 ratio of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' (which opened in December before Christmas to record-breaking numbers). The disappointing ratio can be attributed to the very poor reviews and middling word-of-mouth. The RT score is currently sitting at a sad 29% while the Flixter score is at 72%, which is already below the 76% rating of 'Man of Steel' over nearly three years. Those scores are also noticeably behind 'Avengers 2', which had a 75% critics rating and an 84% Flixter score since opening last May. Unfortunately, those two scores are also WAY behind the ratings of each film in Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight Trilogy', where each film never got below 85% with critics and 85% with audiences. Overall, 'BvS' should prove to be much more front-loaded than any of those films. Still, a $166 million debut is nothing to cry over, and its much bigger total definitely isn't. Though long-term holding power is basically out of the question, $390 million should still be reachable. Overseas, it's doing even better, grossing a stunning $254 million in five days of play. It had successful openings in China ($57.3m), Mexico ($18.6m), Brazil ($12.2m), South Korea ($10.5m), Australia ($10m), Russia ($8.5m), France ($8.4m), Germany ($8.2m), Spain ($6.3m), Italy ($5.8m), and Japan ($4.4m). Worldwide, it has now amassed $420 million, which ranks fourth all-time behind 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' ($529m), 'Jurassic World' ($524.9m), and 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2' ($483.2m). $1 billion is definitely a guarantee, but because of the mixed word-of-mouth and unconvincing reviews it would be surprising if it made much more than $1.5 billion worldwide.<br />
As always, Disney's $150-million animated dramedy 'Zootopia' held up very well this weekend, dropping just 35.4% and making $24 million. 'Zootopia' crossed the $240 million mark this weekend, and has now totaled an impressive $241.4 million in just four weeks of play. Assuming it continues to hold up strongly (which it most likely will), stellar reviews and word-of-mouth should get it past $310 million total, which is a very good result for a film that opened with $75 million.<br />
<a href="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2015/12/22/my-big-fat-greek-wedding-2.jpg?itok=nJJ3Wygi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/styles/tout_image_612x380/public/i/2015/12/22/my-big-fat-greek-wedding-2.jpg?itok=nJJ3Wygi" height="198" width="320" /></a> Following the massive success of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', which was fueled by solid word-of-mouth and surprised everyone by making a HUGE $241.4 million all the way back in 2002, the sequel that came out 14 years later ultimately managed to attract most of that film's audience, grossing a solid $17.9 million for a $5.7k average. That's a fairly respectable result, and opened on the high end of expectations which typically ranged anywhere from $14m-$20m. Luckily, not everyone wanted to see the much-anticipated arrival of two of America's most iconic heroes and the ones who chose to sit out opted to go see this instead. While there's a 0% chance that it matches the impressive total of its predecessor or the remarkable legs it displayed, the $18-million romantic comedy should still hold up pretty well against discouraging reviews (24%). Word-of-mouth is mostly working in its favor ('A-', which is actually better than the 'B' the weekend's other new wide release got), so it has that going for it.<br />
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'Wedding' opened with $7.3 million on Friday (including Thursday's $1m), decreased 12% on Saturday to make $6.4 million, and fell 36.5% on Sunday to make $4.1 million. The ratio here is 2.45-to-1, which is actually a pretty good outcome given that Easter releases tend to be really front-loaded on Easter weekend. It's impossible that it will snag the 80.5x multiplier the original managed, but anything 3.5x and above would be likely. That would mean that we should expect a total of $60 million or more, which would be pretty solid given its low budget and the amount of competition.<br />
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With close numbers for the weekend, 'Miracles from Heaven' and 'The Divergent Series: Allegiant' $9.7 million and $9.4 million. 'Heaven' declined a light 35.4% from last weekend, and boosted its total to $34.3 million. Meanwhile, 'Allegiant' plummeted a troubling 67.5% from its opening, and has so far collected just $46.5 million. The former cost just $13 million to produce, while the latter was made for $110 million (subsequently leading to budget cuts for the next installment, 'Ascendant'). It's clear which one is the stronger performer, as 'Miracles' will try to make it past $65 million while 'Allegiant' will have to settle for around a disappointing $70 million, which puts an unprecedented amount of pressure on the next entry in the YA series.<br />
'10 Cloverfield Lane' held up decently against the tough competition, dropping 52.5% and grossing $5.9 million. The $15-million sci-fi thriller has so far made a solid $56 million in three weeks, and a total of over/under $70 million is very likely at this point.<br />
<a href="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2016/02/10/deadpool-dmc_2670_v068_matte.1045_rgb_wide-1a6509acc4d6759a0ae466905cc75396e151b233-s900-c85.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2016/02/10/deadpool-dmc_2670_v068_matte.1045_rgb_wide-1a6509acc4d6759a0ae466905cc75396e151b233-s900-c85.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a> Two R-rated actioners occupied seventh and eight place. The one that came out on top was 'Deadpool', which held up surprisingly well against a different, more kid-friendly superhero mash-up opening this weekend. The $58-million superhero movie grossed $4.9 million, down a solid 38.9%. With a very strong $349.4 million, 'Deadpool' will have to relinquish its position as 2016's biggest hit to 'Batman v Superman', but come on. A total of around $365 million for a superhero film that was originally supposed to appeal mainly to fans is about as impressive as a $400 million finish for one of the most high-profile films in the century, right? Meanwhile, 'London Has Fallen' is operating on a much smaller scale, but is still putting up solid numbers on its own. The $60-million action movie fell a sizable 55.8% from last weekend, grossing $3 million. So far, 'London' has grossed $55.7 million, and $70 million should still be in reach.<br />
Roadside's Sally Field starrer 'Hello, My Name is Doris' expanded successfully this weekend, adding 357 theaters this weekend for a grand total of 485 locations. It grossed $1.7 million, up a strong 67.2% from last weekend. In three weeks, the R-rated comedy has now grossed $3.2 million. It should expand further in the coming weeks given that reviews and word-of-mouth is overwhelmingly positive.<br />
'Risen' held up very nicely, benefiting from the Easter weekend and grossing $935k, down just 18.3%. The $20-million faith-based drama has now earned a solid $36 million in six weeks, and $40 million could still be a lock.<br />
Closely following in twelfth place was the critically acclaimed drama 'Eye in the Sky', which also expanded solidly, grossing $932.4k for a 120.6% increase over last weekend's frame. 88 locations were added this weekend for a total of 123 theaters showing the film. So far, 'Eye' has made $1.7 million in three weeks and, like 'Doris', should expand in the following weeks.<br />
The $35-million war comedy 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' rounded out the Top 12, making $900.1k and falling a steep 67.9% (most likely due to its loss of 1,232 theaters this weekend). So far, 'Foxtrot' has brought in an underwhelming $21.3 million and should ultimately inch past $25 million total.<br />
The Top 12 this weekend brought in a historic $245.3 million, which was up 107.8% from last weekend and 72.4% from last year, when 'Home' and 'Get Hard' debuted strongly along with holdovers 'The Divergent Series: Insurgent' and 'Cinderella'.<br />
Next weekend, 'Batman v Superman' should repeat in first place as competition should do nothing to unseat it, although next weekend will test how well it will hold up in the face of polarizing reviews and word-of-mouth. Meanwhile, 'God's Not Dead 2' will attempt to reach the same audience that showed up to 2014's sleeper hit, which made over $60 million domestic after opening to just under $10 million. 'Meet the Blacks' opens nationwide as well, but given the fact that parodies haven't been doing so well recently (take 'Scary Movie V' and 'Fifty Shades of Black' for example), it should barely make a blip on the radar. <br />
Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-88087584698686361112016-03-20T20:20:00.002-07:002016-03-20T22:12:43.263-07:00Weekend Estimates: 'Zootopia' Three-Peats Ahead of Box Office 'Miracles' While 'Allegiant' Falls For the third straight weekend in a row, Disney's big-budget animated comedy-drama 'Zootopia' experienced another strong hold ahead of the weekend's three new wide releases, a low-budget faith-based drama that will hope to build up upon strong word-of-mouth, an under-the-radar R-rated comedy, and a big-budget YA sequel that absolutely failed to reach the heights of its predecessors.<br />
Repeating in first place once again, Disney's fantastic 'Zootopia' still captured audiences attention, easing a light 25.9% from its already strong second weekend performance and raking in $38 million. That ranks as the eight biggest third weekend for any film ever, and the biggest third weekend take for an animated film just barely above 'Shrek 2' ($37.9m). Overall, it's just behind 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' and its third weekend of $38.9 million, so once actuals come in it could move into seventh place on the chart. Today, it passed 'Tangled' to become the third highest-grossing film from Walt Disney Animation Studios behind 'Frozen' ($400.7m) and 'Big Hero 6' ($222.5m), and will most likely pass the latter gross next weekend. So far, 'Zootopia' has so far grossed a stellar $201.8 million in just three weeks, and actually has a chance at making over $300 million by the end of its run.<br />
In a weak and disappointing second, 'The Divergent Series: Allegiant' missed the mark with just $29.1 million for a middling $7.8k per-theater average. That is easily the worst opening in the 'Divergent' movie franchise, which is 46.7% below the $54.6 million debut of 'Divergent' and 44.4% below 'Insurgent''s $52.3 million. 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' only fell 22.9% from 'Catching Fire' and 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials' declined a light 6.8% from the first. Those films, however, had stronger marketing, a more reliable fan-base, more appeal, and much better reviews and word-of-mouth/anticipation going into the weekend. After the much weaker reception of the second installment, audiences weren't that eager to rush out to the third one. The teaser trailer for this film received a lackluster 3.5 million views on YouTube while the teaser for 'Insurgent' nabbed 5.4 million. Plus, social media activity was noticeably down, and ultimately all these factors contributed to the weaker-than-expected performance. 'Allegiant' is the second big-budget miss for Lionsgate this year, which not only sets more pressure for next year's 'Ascendant' but also sets up Lionsgate to perform how Warner Bros. performed last year (few hits, mostly flops). For a film that was projected to make $30m-$45m, this is not a good start. Instead, it debuted closer to YA flops 'Ender's Game' ($27m) and 'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events' ($30.1m).<br />
On Friday, 'Allegiant' made $11.9 million ($2.4m from Thursday) on Friday, dropped a troubling 10.2% on Saturday for $10.7 million, and fell 39.9% on Sunday to make $6.4 million. That represents a concerning 2.45-to-1, which is lower than the 2.48-to-1 ratio of 'Insurgent' and the 2.75-to-1 ratio of 'Scorch Trials' but better than the 2.39-to-1 ratio of the first 'Divergent'. With a reported budget of around $110 million, which was what 'Insurgent' cost last year, 'Allegiant' will have to make up a lot of ground overseas. With critics panning it (10% on RT) and audiences indecisive about it (50% on Flixter), this is unlikely to hold up as well as recent installments and similar YA films. It's unlikely to make much more than $70 million by the time it closes. However, it's faring a lot better overseas, and added $22 million to its foreign tally of $53.4 million. Globally, the YA sequel has grossed $82.5 million and has a pretty solid chance at $280 million.<br />
The $13-million Jennifer Garner led faith-based drama 'Miracles from Heaven' didn't quite make as much as 2014's 'Heaven is for Real', but was still a hit nevertheless. After opening modestly on Wednesday, 'Miracles' gained quite a bit of momentum on the weekend and grossed $15 million for a respectable $4.9k average and a five-day total of $18.6 million. That is right in line with expectations ($12m-$20m) and represents a 33.3% decline from 'Heaven is for Real''s $22.5 million opening, but this is a reasonable result as the latter debuted right before Easter, whereas 'Miracles' has the advantage of opening a week earlier. A significantly leggier run than 'Heaven' is expected because of this and stronger word-of-mouth.<br />
Opening on Wednesday with $1.9 million and declining on 11.6% on Thursday for $1.7 million, 'Miracles' grossed an estimated $4.2 million on Friday, increased a very encouraging 47.3% on Saturday to earn $6.1 million, and fell a light 22.6% on Sunday for $4.7 million. The weekend-to-ratio here is a very solid 3.57-to-1 ratio and the five day to three day weekend ratio is 1.24-to-1, with both figures besting 'Heaven is for Real'. And while reviews aren't that kind or that mean (a middling 54% RT score), word-of-mouth is glowing with an 85% Flixter rating and an 'A+' CinemaScore. With that, it's essentially guaranteed 'Miracles' holds up better than 'Heaven'. It's possible it could snag a weekend multiplier of 5x and end up with around $75 million, but I'm going to be a bit more conservative with a projected $60 million finish.<br />
'10 Cloverfield Lane' held up fairly well, dropping 49.4% for a $12.5 million sophomore frame. With $45.2 million in two weeks, the $15-million sci-fi thriller is already a big hit and will likely continue the 'Cloverfield' franchise in future years. A total of around $65 million should still be doable at this point. Rounding out the Top 5 was 'Deadpool', which grossed $8 million and dropping a slim 26.9%. The $58-million R-rated superhero film goes up against 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' next weekend, so it makes sense that many audiences wanted to catch this before going out to see that. With an enormous $340.9 million since opening in mid-February, 'Deadpool' should make it past $355 million total, which would make it the second biggest R-rated film ever ahead of 'American Sniper' and behind 'Passion of the Christ'.<br />
'London Has Fallen' followed closely with $6.9 million, down a solid 36.4% from last weekend. So far, the $60-million action sequel has made $50.1 million and will try to push past $70 million, which would put it behind the $98.9 million total of 'Olympus Has Fallen'. Fellow March 4-opener 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' made $2.8 million and declined 39.9%. Despite the strong holds, the $35-million comedy continues to run below expectations and has made just $19.3 million in three weeks. $25 million should be likely.<br />
Meanwhile, the final new wide release this weekend was 'The Bronze', which downright bombed HARDLY outside the Top 20, making a very paltry $421.4k from 1,167 theaters for just $361 per theater. That is the 14th worst opening for a wide release and the ninth worst per-theater average of all time. Marketing was very minimal for the film, but still it should have at least cracked $3 million. Given the discouraging reviews and word-of-mouth, $1 million would probably be predicting to high.<br />
On a higher note, 'Midnight Special' debuted in five theaters to a very strong $184k for a $36.8k per-theater average. That is an excellent start for the low-budget sci-fi drama that has been compared to Spielberg's films from the 80's. With strong reviews, it should hold up fairly well in the coming weeks, although word-of-mouth is much less impressive. It is expected to expand on April 1.<br />
The Top 12 this weekend made an estimated $119.1 million, which was down 2.4% from last weekend and down a slim 1.7% from last year when 'Insurgent' kept the series alive.<br />
Next weekend should be one that makes history, even if not all records fall. 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', which has a budget of what 'Avengers 2' had, crashes into 4,100+ theaters next week. On IMDb, its 9.5/10 rating is very encouraging, and anticipation is very high (+98%). It should make it past $130 million in a single weekend, and $170 million is even possible. 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2' also arrives in over 3,000 theaters. Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-24346762344206645532016-03-13T16:29:00.001-07:002016-03-13T18:04:29.044-07:00Weekend Estimates: 'Zootopia' Gets Crowded Again, '10 Cloverfield Lane' Thrills, People Find 'The Perfect Match', Avoid 'The Young Messiah' and 'Brothers Grimsby' It was a busy weekend at the box office this weekend. Repeating in a very strong first place was Disney's 'Zootopia', with strong runner-up '10 Cloverfield Lane' and holdovers 'Deadpool', 'London Has Fallen', and 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' rounding out the Top 5. Meanwhile, one of the other new releases, 'The Perfect Match', had a respectable outing in less than 1,000 theaters and the two more high-profile pictures each flopped.<br />
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Dropping just 33.4% from last week's stellar opening, Disney's $150-million animated original 'Zootopia' repeated in first place with $50 million. That's the biggest second weekend take for an animated film in March and the sixth-biggest second weekend gross for any animated film overall, behind only 'Shrek 2' ($72.2m), 'Toy Story 3' ($59.3m), 'Shrek the Third' ($53m), 'Inside Out' ($52.3m), and 'The Incredibles' ($50.3m). 'Zootopia' has so far grossed an awesome $142.6 million, and has the potential to cross $270 million domestic. It's doing outstandingly well overseas too, pulling in $83.1 million (+25%) this weekend for a new total of $288.7 million. Worldwide, the animated hit has made a solid $431.3 million and might be able to make it past $800 million.<br />
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In a strong second place, the $15-million sci-fi thriller '10 Cloverfield Lane' brought in $25.2 million for a robust $7.4k per-theater average. Compared to the original 'Cloverfield' (which had a much stronger marketing campaign, faced less competition, and was found-footage while audiences still cared for that genre), it was way below the $40.1 million opening, although it was never really expected to make it that high. This is undoubtedly an impressive debut, as it opened right in line with expectations ($20m-$35m). Ultimately, the marketing campaign for this one managed to pull it off, including two mysterious teasers that just made anticipation for the film higher. Among similar titles, '10 Cloverfield Lane' opened right on par with last year's 'The Visit', which took in $25.4 million in September. Stronger-than-expected reviews and word-of-mouth (at least on Flixter) undoubtedly helped too.<br />
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Starting out on Friday with $9 million (including $1.8m from Thursday night showings), 'Cloverfield' increased 7.8% on Saturday to gross $9.7 million and declined 33.1% on Sunday to make $6.5 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio here is a solid 2.8-to-1, which beats 'The Visit' (2.76-to-1) and 'Cloverfield' itself (2.33-to-1). As previously said, reviews (90% on RT) and word-of-mouth (85% on Flixter) are pretty strong. The only concerning thing about this weekend's performance though is the CinemaScore rating, which currently stands at a 'B-', which is at least better than 'Cloverfield' ('C') and on par with 'The Visit' ('B-'). The original petered out at a disappointing 2x opening weekend multiplier, ending its run with $80 million. However, with much better reviews and word-of-mouth '10 Cloverfield Lane' will most likely wind up better than that. Don't be surprised if the film experiences legs similar to 'Visit', which would get it to around $65 million (around what 'Visit' got as well).<br />
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Repeating in third was the $58-million R-rated Ryan Reynolds led superhero action comedy 'Deadpool', which continued to add on to its already massive total with $10.8 million, down a respectable 35.4% from last weekend, its strongest hold yet. With a stunning $328.1 million already, 'Deadpool' should hold up well one more time next weekend before 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' storms into theaters and steals away most superhero fans for the weekend. Even so, a solid total of $345 million still seems likely. Fellow R-rated action film 'London Has Fallen' had a much steeper, but reasonable, drop from last weekend, falling 50.7% for $10.7 million. In comparison, 'Olympus Has Fallen' declined 53.4% in its second weekend when it had to compete against 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation'. With $38.9 million in the bank so far, 'London' should continue to trail behind its predecessor and ultimately make it over $60 million total.<br />
Rounding out the Top 5, the $35-million Tina Fey led war comedy 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' held up well coming off last week's underwhelming debut, bringing in $4.6 million (-38.3%). So far, it has made just $14.6 million, and if it manages to maintain legs over the next couple of weeks, $30 million might be in range.<br />
'The Perfect Match' was widely expected to be the lowest-grossing newcomer this weekend, but ultimately wound up ahead of two of them. The low-budget romantic comedy made $4.2 million from just 925 locations, which means a $4.5k average. This is a bit below expectations and behind 2014's 'Addicted', which opened to $7.5 million from 846 theaters for a $8.8k average. Still, this is a respectable debut, and even more impressive considering the other two wide releases had significantly higher theater counts.<br />
'Match' opened with $1.6 million on Friday, increased 10.9% on Saturday to take in $1.7 million, and fell a concerning 50.3% on Sunday to make $860k. The weekend-to-Friday ratio here is a modest 2.63-to-1. A total slightly north of $10 million is likely.<br />
Following a strong Thursday night gross, 'The Young Messiah' turned out to be pretty front-loaded on Friday and experienced a sharp Saturday drop. The film took in just $3.4 million for a $1.9k per-theater average. Unfortunately, following the decent performance of 'Risen' and the highly-anticipated arrival of next Wednesday's 'Miracles from Heaven', there just wasn't that much the marketing could do to convince faith-based crowds to turn out for this film instead of saving their money for the arguably more anticipated features.<br />
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After opening with $1.4 million on Friday ($455k of which came from Thursday), 'Messiah' decreased a sharp 21.3% on Saturday to gross $1.1 million and balanced out on Sunday with a drop of 15% and earnings of $927k. The weekend-to-Friday ratio is a disappointing 2.43-to-1, which is a figure that you usually wouldn't expect from a Christian-centered movie. Overall, the $18.5-million novel adaptation should experience weaker holding power than usual for a Christian film. It's highly unlikely it makes much more than $10 million.<br />
In an even worse position was the $35-million Sacha Baron Cohen/Mark Strong led raunchy R-rated spy comedy 'The Brothers Grimsby' downright flopped with just $3.2 million and a $1.4k average. That is easily the worst opening for Cohen in a lead role, opening almost three times less than his previous low 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' ($9.3m). In three days, it failed to make what 'The Dictator' made on its opening day in 2012. It was nearly ten times less than 'Bruno''s opening ($30.6m) and also way down from 'Borat' ($26.5m). Overall, the marketing was just alienating American audiences too much (it was a British-made film) and didn't guarantee strong laughs. The only bright light in 'Grimsby''s marketing campaign was multiple celebrity and audience reactions to an extremely gross-out scene in the film. Otherwise, not much.<br />
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The modestly-budgeted flop made just $1.2 million on Friday, made the exact same amount of Saturday, and decreased 38.6% on Sunday for $740k. The weekend-to-Friday ratio is a decent 2.67-to-1. While reviews (37% on RT) and Flixter audiences (55%) aren't promising impressive staying power, CinemaScore audiences seem to be having a mostly good time ('B+'). Still, $10 million would be predicting too much for it, and even $9 million seems unlikely.<br />
It seems that audiences just won't give 'Gods of Egypt' a break. The horribly-reviewed, big-budget action fantasy original fell 51.9% and made just $2.5 million. With a terrible $27.3 million in three weeks, it probably won't reach $35 million domestic by the end of its run. Overseas, it's doing a lot better, though it probably won't save it from flopping. 'Gods' benefited from China's $20 million debut, and in all brought in $26.4 million from 73 foreign markets. It's foreign total is now $80.5 million and the worldwide take now $107.8 million.<br />
'Risen' continued to hold up solidly, dropping 42.4% and making $2.3 million. That hold probably would've been a lot more unimpressive if it weren't for 'Messiah''s poor debut. The $20-million faith-based drama has now gathered $32.4 million and $40 million should still be in reach. 'The Revenant' was close behind with $2 million, down 41.2% from last weekend. That sizable (yet solid) hold shows that the Oscar effect is quickly wearing off (as shown by the film's week-to-week holds). Still, 'Revenant' continues to be a solid performer with $179.1 million so far. $185 million should be a lock for the $135-million Western thriller.<br />
Rounding out the Top 12, the $140-million animated comedy 'Kung Fu Panda 3' continued to suffer from the competition of 'Zootopia', dropping another steep 53.8% for $1.7 million. It has so far grossed a respectable $136.4 million, and should inch past the $140 million before it disappears from theaters.<br />
Overall, the Top 12 this weekend grossed an estimated $120.4 million, down an understandable 18.1% from last weekend and down a slim 0.7% from last year when 'Cinderella' wore the box office crown.<br />
Next weekend, will see the release of the highly-anticipated faith-based PG-rated film 'Miracles from Heaven', which actually opens this Wednesday and will hope to replicate the breakout success of 2014's 'Heaven is for Real'. Also, the third chapter in 'The Divergent Series', 'Allegiant', will most likely see a sizable decline in ticket sales like all the other YA franchises including 'Hunger Games', 'Percy Jackson', and 'Maze Runner'. Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-69892571396566824912016-03-06T13:48:00.000-08:002016-03-07T21:41:45.636-08:00Weekend Actuals: 'Zootopia' Flourishes with Biggest March Debut for an Animated Film, 'London Has Fallen' in a Nice Second, 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' Fails to Connect with Audiences Disney Animation's 'Zootopia' claimed the biggest opening weekend for a film from Walt Disney Animation Studious and for an animated film in March. Meanwhile, the $60-million action sequel 'London Has Fallen' was a very solid runner-up and Tina Fey's latest movie 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' failed to break out like her previous outings.<br />
<a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ro7sfOQQa_U/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ro7sfOQQa_U/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a> In first place was Disney's 'Zootopia', which brought in a strong $75.1 million for a $19.6k per-theater average. That represents the biggest opening weekend for a Walt Disney Animation Studious film (beating 'Frozen''s $67.4m), the biggest March opening for an animated film (besting 'The Lorax''s $70.2m), and the fourth biggest March debut overall (behind only 'The Hunger Games', 'Alice in Wonderland', and 'Oz The Great and Powerful'). Among animal-centered animated offerings, it more than quadruples 'Norm of the North''s $16.9 million total, opened above all three 'Madagascar' movies and almost beat the total of the franchise's spin-off 'Penguins of Madagascar' ($83.4m) in one weekend, and is higher than all three 'Kung Fu Panda' films. Considering that most of those were franchise films, this is a very impressive debut. Overall, this is a great start to this year's slew of animated films, with strong contenders 'The Angry Birds Movie', 'Finding Dory', 'Ice Age: Collision Course', 'Moana', and 'Sing' yet to come this year.<br />
'Zootopia' started out with $19.5 million on Friday (including $1.7m from Thursday night previews), increased 62.2% on Saturday to take in $31.6 million, and decreased just 24.4% on Sunday to gross $23.9 million. That places the weekend-to-Friday ratio at a very strong 3.85-to-1, beating 'Frozen' (2.51-to-1) and 'Big Hero 6' (3.56-to-1). Those films wound up with $400.7 million ('Frozen') and $222.5 million ('Big Hero 6'), respectively. While 'Frozen'-like numbers shouldn't be expected, don't be surprised if it ends up surpassing the latter. With phenomenal reviews (99% on RT) and sensational word-of-mouth (96% Flixter score to go along with an 'A' CinemaScore), it should wind up with about $265 million and has potential to go even higher.<br />
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Finishing in second place was the $60-million action sequel 'London Has Fallen', following up to the 2013 surprise hit 'Olympus Has Fallen' ($30.4m opening/$98.9m total). Grossing $21.6 million for a respectable $6.2k average, 'London' performed greatly in line with expectations, which ranged from $19 million to $22 million. Promising more large-scale action and destruction (as sequels tend to do) and showcasing the performances of Gerard Butler (who recovered from last week's flop 'Gods of Egypt'), Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman, this ultimately looked like solid counter-programming against a family-oriented original, an R-rated superhero hit, and a war comedy. While it is below the $30.4 million that 'Olympus' took in 2013, it was never really expected to make it to that level.<br />
Opening with $7.5 million on Friday (including $850k from Thursday night showings), 'London' increased 13% on Saturday and made $8.5 million on Saturday and decreased a reasonable 34.4% on Sunday to earn $5.6 million. The ratio here is a respectable 2.88-to-1, which is down from the 3.01-to-1 ratio of 'Olympus' but up from the 2.52-to-1 ratio of 'Terminator Genisys' and the 2.72-to-1 ratio of 'The Expendables 2'. Ultimately, it's unlikely it will hold up as well as its predecessor, especially given that reviews are much weaker (25% on RT), but a similar multiplier to 'A Good Day to Die Hard' and 'White House Down' is very likely. A total of around $59m-$64m is likely.<br />
Relinquishing the weekend crown to 'Zootopia' after three weeks in the top spot, the $58-million R-rated superhero action comedy 'Deadpool' declined a substantial 46.2% from last weekend and made $16.7 million. On Saturday it crossed the $300-million milestone domestically, becoming the first movie in the 'X-Men' franchise to do so, and has now grossed $311.5 million in just four weeks of play. A grand total of $345 million is very likely as strong word-of-mouth should continue to propel it in the coming weeks.<br />
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In a disappointing fourth, Tina Fey's $35-million war comedy 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' grossed $7.4 million for a so-so $3.1k average. Many were expecting an opening in the range of $10m-$14m, but ultimately it turned out to be a tougher sell than the star's other comedies 'Sisters' and 'Baby Mama' (both of which co-starred Amy Poehler). It failed to reach those films' $13.9 million and $17.4 million openings, but did pass 'Our Brand is Crisis''s $7 million total in one weekend.<br />
On Friday, 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' grossed $2.4 million on Friday (including around $320k from Thursday), increased a promising 31.9% on Saturday to bring in $3.2 million, and fell 43% for $1.8 million on Sunday. This places the weekend-to-Friday ratio at a strong 3.08-to-1, so there is some promise in the long run. However, due to such a small opening, it probably won't make much more than $25 million even if it does hold up well.<br />
Rounding out the Top 5 was the $140-million action fantasy flop 'Gods of Egypt', which plummeted 63.2% from its already disastrous opening weekend to make a meager $5.2 million. That drop is on par with 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' (-66.4%) and is worse than the 57.4% decline of '300: Rise of an Empire'. With only $23 million in the bank so far, it would be surprising if it managed to cross $35 million.<br />
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The $20-million faith-based drama 'Risen' had one of the best holds among the weekend's holdovers, dropping just 42.7% from last weekend and grossing $3.9 million. 'Risen' has so far made a solid $28.7 million and should finish with around $40 million total. Closely following in seventh, 'Kung Fu Panda 3' grossed $3.6 million, which is off 59.9% from last weekend. That steep decline can be attributed to the arrival of 'Zootopia', which obviously stole away a lot of the family audiences. Still, the $140-million animated comedy has so far taken in a strong $133.9 million and should close with slightly over $140 million.<br />
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Eighth and ninth places were bunched together as well. Coming out on top was 'The Revenant', which benefited greatly from Leo's Oscar win last Sunday, dropping just 13.9% to make $3.4 million. The Oscar effect should stick around for at least one more weekend, so don't be surprised if it experiences another great hold. With $176.1 million already, 'Revenant' should cross $180 million by next weekend and could make it to $190 million total. In ninth was 'Eddie the Eagle', which held up fairly well with $3.1 million, down 48.6% from its opening. However, the $23-million sports dramedy is still running below expectations with just $10.9 million as of today. If it still manages to hold up well in the coming weeks, 'Eddie' could pass $20 million domestically, but that's nothing to be satisfied about.<br />
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Tenth, eleventh, and twelfth all grossed around the same amount this weekend. In tenth was A24's 'The Witch', grossing $2.5 million (-51%) and bringing its cume to $20.9 million. $25 million is a lock at this point. Eleventh belonged to 'Triple 9', which erased all hopes of managing to be critic and audience-proof by falling a terrible 62.9% and making just $2.3 million. With only $10.4 million, the $20-million ensemble led crime thriller should end its run with around $15 million. Finally, rounding out the Top 12 was the $38-million rom-com 'How to Be Single', which made $2.1 million for a 57.7% decline. 'Single' has so far grossed a solid $43.3 million and will attempt to make it past $50 million.<br />
The Top 12 this weekend grossed $146.9 million, which is up a strong 52.3% from last weekend and a very strong 87.7% from last year when 'Chappie' and 'Unfinished Business' flopped while 'The Second Best Marigold Hotel' found itself with a solid opening.<br />
Next weekend, 'Zootopia' will go head-to-head with '10 Cloverfield Lane' for the first place position. '10 Cloverfield Lane' looks to have a very strong opening similar to its "blood relative" 'Cloverfield'. Meanwhile, the weekend's other new wide releases 'The Young Messiah' and 'The Brothers Grimsby' will probably end up with below $10 million.<br />
Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-59707032182434210022016-03-05T11:53:00.002-08:002016-03-05T11:53:35.885-08:00Friday Report: Audiences Travel to 'Zootopia' with 'London Has Fallen' Runner-Up and 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' Disappointing More records will fall this weekend as 'Zootopia' attempts to claim the biggest March opening for an animated film. Meanwhile, 'London Has Fallen' provided solid counter-programming (for the most part) while the Tina Fey vehicle 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' underwhelmed.<br />
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In a very solid first place yesterday, Disney's latest animated feature 'Zootopia' claimed $19.5 million (including an estimated $1.7m from Thursday night showings). That marks the second biggest opening day gross for an animated film in March, behind the $21.8 million take of 'Ice Age: The Meltdown', and the biggest opening day gross for an original animated film in March, ahead of 'Dr. Seuss' The Lorax' ($17.5m). Those films went on to gross $68 million ('Ice Age') and $70.2 million ('Lorax'), figures that 'Zootopia' likely to pass. Among Walt Disney Animation releases, it is ahead of 'Big Hero 6' ($15.8m/$56.2m weekend) and the Wednesday expansion of 'Frozen' ($15.2m/$67.4m weekend). With a very stellar 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes as well as a 95% Flixter score, 'Zootopia' will likely hold up very well throughout the weekend and the long run. Although it has potential to beat Disney's fellow March release 'Oz The Great and Powerful' ($79.1m), I'm going to be a bit more conservative with an opening around $75 million.<br />
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In a solid second place, the $60m-$105m budgeted action sequel to the 2013 surprise hit 'Olympus Has Fallen' ($30.4m/$98.9m total) 'London Has Fallen' grossed an estimated $7.6 million. Although that's down 24.8% from 'Olympus'' $10.1 million take, it was never expected to match its predecessor. It's opening is below recent action sequels 'Taken 3' ($14.9m) and 'A Good Day to Die Hard' ($8.2m), although the latter opened on a Thursday on Valentine's Day weekend. It is at least better than 'Transporter 2' ($5.6m), 'The Expendables 3' ($6m), 'Red' ($7.3m), and '13 Hours' ($5.9m). If 'London' follows the patterns of those films, it will end the weekend anywhere from $20m-$23m. A finish of around $21 million is likely for the big-budget sequel, which means that it will need to significantly improve on the predecessor's overseas gross to become profitable.<br />
Dethroned from the top spot for the first time, the $58-million R-rated Ryan Reynolds led superhero action comedy from Fox 'Deadpool' grossed $4.7 million on Friday, down a sizable 47.1% from last Friday. Despite the initial front-loading of its performance, 'Deadpool' has now grossed $299.5 million in 22 days. It will pass the $300 million mark today, and will likely finish with around $16m-$18m for the weekend.<br />
<a href="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/99258ca27d92ba5db07285c64466561fe0b7fe26/c=93-0-2753-2000&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2015/11/24/USATODAY/USATODAY/635839904176705928-FTF-14462R2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/99258ca27d92ba5db07285c64466561fe0b7fe26/c=93-0-2753-2000&r=x408&c=540x405/local/-/media/2015/11/24/USATODAY/USATODAY/635839904176705928-FTF-14462R2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a> The $35-million Tina Fey led war comedy 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' disappointed in fourth with just $2.4 million. That lower than last December's 'Sisters' ($5m), which had to face much heavier competition against 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' and, to a lesser extent, 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip'. It is at least more than double of what October flop 'Our Brand is Crisis' made on opening day ($1.1m), though that's little consolation. Reviews (61% on RT) and word-of-mouth (66% Flixter score) are middling, but Tina Fey, who is known for starring in fairly leggy films, should carry this through the weekend and in the coming weeks, though this performance is nothing to do cartwheels over. Expect a $5.5m-$7m opening.<br />
Rounding out the Top 5 was the $140-million Alex Proyas directed action fantasy original 'Gods of Egypt', which has been dubbed the first big-budget flop of 2016. It continues to live up to the title, as it dropped a ghastly 72% from opening day and grossed a paltry $1.3 million. That drop is about on par with 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' (-74.3%/$2.3m) and is worse than other comparisons such as 'Jupiter Ascending' (-68.4%/$2m) and '300: Rise of an Empire' (-67%/$5.8m). A weekend of around $4.5 million is likely for this massive box office bomb.<br />
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<u><b>Weekend Forecast</b></u></div>
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1. 'Zootopia' - $75.1 million</div>
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2. 'London Has Fallen' - $20.9 million</div>
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3. 'Deadpool' - $17.6 million (-43.4%)</div>
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4. 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' - $6.7 million</div>
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5. 'Gods of Egypt' - $4.6 million (-67.4%) </div>
Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-15298519786096611422016-02-29T21:31:00.001-08:002016-02-29T21:31:44.002-08:00Monthly Forecast: March 2016 As a solid February is coming to a close (led by none other than 'Deadpool'), a new month begins that will attempt at a shot for the biggest March ever. Strong contenders include 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice', 'Zootopia', '10 Cloverfield Lane', 'Miracles from Heaven', 'The Divergent Series: Allegiant', and 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'.<br />
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<b>London Has Fallen</b><br />
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The sequel to the 2013 surprise hit 'Olympus Has Fallen' ($98.9m) returns to theaters, attacking 3,250 theaters and carrying a bigger price tag ($105m compared to the first's $70m budget). Action sequels are hit-and-miss nowadays, with recent successes 'Furious 7' ($353m) and 'Mad Max: Fury Road' ($153.6m) but misfires like 'A Good Day to Die Hard' ($67.3m) and 'Terminator Genisys' ($89.8m). This one looks like it will perform closer to the latter group, as there just doesn't feel like a lot of hype is surrounding the film. Also, while Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman star alongside Gerard Butler (who's coming off of the embarrassing performance of 'Gods of Egypt'), they aren't guaranteed draws (Eckhart couldn't save 'My All American' ($2.2m) and Freeman couldn't get audiences to come to 'Transcendence' ($23m)). Overall, this should play very similar to 'A Good Day to Die Hard' if not a little better.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $26 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $71.5 million</b><br />
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<b>Whiskey Tango Foxtrot</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/b0ca0ff51b0475e0ab1634387da080afc7b910d0/c=0-0-2660-2000&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2015/11/24/USATODAY/USATODAY/635839904168281766-FTF-16688R2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/b0ca0ff51b0475e0ab1634387da080afc7b910d0/c=0-0-2660-2000&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2015/11/24/USATODAY/USATODAY/635839904168281766-FTF-16688R2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>Tina Fey is coming off of the fresh success of December's 'Sisters' ($87m and counting), which debuted to $13.9 million against 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' and 'Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip', providing solid counter-programming for audiences who wanted a solid laugh at the theaters. It looks to be a similar situation this weekend, as Fey's latest film 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot', which also stars Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, and Alfred Molina, will be going up against a big-budget action sequel and a family-friendly offering. Reviews are in line with 'Sisters' (it currently holds a 63% Tomatometer score on RT), and anticipation is as well (+95% want-to-see score on RT). The marketing has been pretty decent, and the R rating didn't stop 'Sisters' from being a huge hit. However, similarly-themed film 'Our Brand is Crisis' was a huge flop in October (opened with $3.2m and ended with $7m against a $28m budget), so this could potentially underperform. However, stronger reviews and a stronger cast should make this a modest success overall.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $11.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $33 million</b><br />
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<b>Zootopia</b><br />
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This is being predicted as the big winner this weekend. Disney is releasing the new animated film 'Zootopia' across 3,700 locations nationwide. Unlike your typical animated film, 'Zootopia' has been generating strong online activity levels for a while now, a feat that only big-name franchises like 'Toy Story' and 'Despicable Me' have managed to do in recent years. The trailers have been met with very positive results, and it seems like that buzz is being transferred over to critics (its Tomatometer score is at a stellar 100% on RT). However, it could still underwhelm, as recent animated movies ('Kung Fu Panda 3', 'The Good Dinosaur', 'The Peanuts Movie') have failed to meet or exceed expectations both on opening weekend and in the long run. Still, this seems more of a safe bet than the previously mentioned titles, so don't be surprised if it opens similar to 'Big Hero 6' or maybe even 'Despicable Me 2'.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $72 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $245 million</b><br />
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<b>10 Cloverfield Lane</b><br />
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For fans of the original 2008 hit, this is the moment you have been waiting for. Although it seemed a sequel will never happen, the "blood relative" (which worked under the titles 'The Cellar' and 'Valencia') generated much buzz after the first trailer was dropped in January. And adding J. J. Abrams to the mix will only increase that buzz. Whether or not it can match the monstrous $80-million total of 'Cloverfield' remains to be seen, but anticipation for the film is rather high (+98% on RT) and has a sort of event feel to it. I don't expect it to match its predecessor's opening, but it could have stronger holding power in the long run. <b> </b><br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $36.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $82 million</b><br />
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<b>The Brothers Grimsby</b><br />
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For those of you who aren't familiar with his work, Sacha Baron Cohen is a raunchy comedian that has starred in past hits like 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan' ($128.5m), 'Bruno' ($60.1m), and 'The Dictator' ($59.7m). Note the declining grosses in each comedy title. It's already opened in six markets ($3.7m overall gross) with solid results, but does that mean strong domestic returns? The cast also includes Mark Strong ('Kingsman: The Secret Service'), Penelope Cruz ('Zoolander 2'), and Rebel Wilson ('How to Be Single'), so there's some appeal there. Reviews are mixed though (50% on RT), and anticipation is surprisingly low (+88% on RT), which shows minimal audience interest. Ultimately, I wouldn't be surprised if it fails to break $10 million in its opening weekend, as there are many factors that point to that possibility.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $6.5 million</b><br />
<a href="http://necolebitchie.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-Perfect-Match-movie-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://necolebitchie.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-Perfect-Match-movie-5.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><b>Predicted Total: $14 million</b><br />
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<b>The Perfect Match</b><br />
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I'm not going to spend too much time on this one. It just looks like your typical romance comedy. It will likely provide decent counter-programming, with a modestly profitable director and cast backing it up. It won't match 'How to Be Single''s $17.9 million debut, but $10 should be doable.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $12 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $31.5 million</b><br />
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<b>The Young Messiah</b><br />
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<a href="http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news.tops/NE3cDjoXXUSc75_1_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.movieweb.com/img.news.tops/NE3cDjoXXUSc75_1_b.jpg" height="168" width="320" /></a>After 'Risen' kicked off the onslaught of faith-based movies this spring, 'The Young Messiah' will try to capitalize on the successes of similarly-themed movies. Its pre-established fanbase from the novel should turn up, and ones who are interested in the life of Jesus as a child instead of watching him already in adulthood should pay to see this as well. There will be a lot of audience overlap in the market though, since 'Risen' will act as a holdover and 'Miracles from Heaven' and 'God's Not Dead 2' will compete for the same target demographic. 'Messiah' will most likely open modestly and experience strong holding power later in its run.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $8 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $28 million</b><br />
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<b>The Divergent Series: Allegiant</b><br />
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The YA-movie craze is obviously starting to wear off on audiences. In January, 'The Fifth Wave' opened modestly with just $10.3 million and 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials' underwhelmed with $30.3 million, which was slightly down from its predecessor. The 'Hunger Games' franchise has also experienced a bit of a cool down recently as well, with its lowest-grossing entry 'Mockingjay - Part 2' ($281.7m and counting) just about wrapping up its run in theaters. The same should happen for 'The Divergent Series', which also experienced a franchise low with last March's 'Insurgent', which opened to $52.3 million and topped out at $130.2 million, which was significantly down from its predecessor's $150.9 million total in 2014. There is a lot of reason to why the series will experience another decline in ticket sales and grosses, such as lower online activity, the lukewarm reception from the last installment (29% RT score from critics and 60% Flixter score from audiences), and the aforementioned YA fatigue. While it should still be a success ('Insurgent' found a larger overseas audience than 'Divergent'), it would also be a disappointment as well.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $37.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $99 million</b><br />
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<b>Miracles from Heaven</b><br />
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<a href="http://www1.cbn.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_xl_640x480/public/miracles-from-heaven_SI.jpg?itok=meNsukml" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www1.cbn.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_xl_640x480/public/miracles-from-heaven_SI.jpg?itok=meNsukml" height="240" width="320" /></a>Continuing the slew of faith-based movies is the Jennifer Garner led 'Miracles from Heaven', based on a true story (many of them are). This one looks very similar to 2014's sleeper hit 'Heaven is for Real', which debuted to $22.5 million and finished with $91.4 million. That film had a weaker cast and an arguably less interesting premise, so it is likely 'Heaven' will match that figure if not pass it. The PG-rated drama opens on Wednesday before 'Allegiant', so little kids who are too young for the YA-adapted actioner will probably fill theaters playing this one. I expect a five-day total of around $25 million and a three-day opening of around $20 million.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $21.5 million ($28 million 5-day)</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $85.5 million</b><br />
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<b>Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://static3.techinsider.io/image/56600474c28144bc018b701b-2505-1044/batman-v-superman-trinity.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static3.techinsider.io/image/56600474c28144bc018b701b-2505-1044/batman-v-superman-trinity.png" height="166" width="400" /></a>This will probably be the big winner of the month, and possibly one of the biggest of the year. After 'Deadpool' set a new bench mark for 2016 superhero movies a few weeks ago with $132.7 million, 'Dawn of Justice' will attempt to surpass that figure as well as its predecessor 'Man of Steel''s opening ($116.6m). First of all, anticipation is very, very high (+99% from 101k users on RT are excited for this film), although it can't quite match 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' (+100% from 250k users right before release). That film opened to $191.3 million in the beginning of May, which was when 'Justice' was originally scheduled for release until 'Captain America: Civil War' continued the annual "begin-the-summer-with-a-Marvel-movie" tradition (which would have made an epic showdown, but had enough reason for one of them to move). It's unlikely it will get that high, and probably won't even reach 'Iron Man 3' ($174.1). 'Justice' will likely surpass the likes of 'Spider-Man 3' ($151.1m), 'The Dark Knight' ($158.4m), and 'The Dark Knight Rises' ($160.9m). Either way, it will have one of the biggest openings ever for any kind of movie, which is a remarkable feat believe it or not. With a budget of around $200 million (less than 'Man of Steel''s $225m budget or 'Avengers'' $220m budget), this should become one of the most profitable movies of all time. I believe it will have the strength to push past $165 million on opening weekend, and that it should get pretty close to 'Avengers: Age of Ultron''s $459 million total, although there definitely is the possibility it could surpass that.<br />
<b></b> <b>Predicted Opening: $167.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $427 million</b><br />
<br />
<b>The Disappointments Room</b><br />
<br />
Faith-based films aren't the only movie genre invading the market in 2016. Supernatural horror is also having a busy year, with successful releases already from January ('The Forest' and 'The Boy'). While it's unlikely 'Disappointments Room' will make it past $10 million like those films, it should still perform solidly in both its opening weekend and the long run. Director D.J. Caruso should make a modest comeback with this one, having directed modest performers 'I Am Number Four' ($55.1m) and 'Eagle Eye' ($101.4m). Star Kate Beckinsale should prove a reliable draw here as well.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $9 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $21 million</b><br />
<br />
<b>My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/e8d2c5df704ea172965242b2f62940f6611a4ae8/c=0-89-5078-3907&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2015/08/10/USATODAY/USATODAY/635748046714667272-XXX-MY-BIG-FAT-GREEK-WEDDING-2003-74997664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/e8d2c5df704ea172965242b2f62940f6611a4ae8/c=0-89-5078-3907&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2015/08/10/USATODAY/USATODAY/635748046714667272-XXX-MY-BIG-FAT-GREEK-WEDDING-2003-74997664.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>After a whopping 14 years, audiences get to experience more romantic craziness as the sequel to the 2002 smash hit 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' ($241.4m) finally arrives in theaters. This time, it's being directed by Kirk Jones, who has had modest success with 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' ($41.2m) and 'Nanny McPhee' ($47.1m). It's very likely 'Wedding' passes those grosses, but the question is by how much. It looks like it captures the spirit of the original, which is a key selling point for nostalgic movies like this. The original is fairly fondly remembered (a 73% Flixter score as well as a 76% RT score), and anticipation is pretty respectable (+94% on RT). However, 14 years is a very long time to wait, no matter how fondly remembered the predecessor was ('Terminator Genisys' anyone?). Still, it should provide very solid counter-programming, though it's hard to imagine it can retain at least half of the original's gross.<br />
<b>Predicted Opening: $26.5 million</b><br />
<b>Predicted Total: $89 million </b>Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-84368018656158952032016-02-28T19:06:00.002-08:002016-02-29T17:53:54.986-08:00Weekend Actuals: 'Deadpool' Crushes Weak Newcomers on Oscar Weekend Starting today, the 88th Academy Awards is one of the most anticipated award shows of the year. Although it is viewed nationwide by millions, not everyone is interested in seeing who brings home the gold. Instead, they go see the actual movies on the big screen. While they seemed interested in the holdovers, very few went to see the new releases, all of which will struggle to make back their budget domestically.<br />
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Easily repeating in first place for the third weekend in a row before relinquishing it next week, the $58-million R-rated Ryan Reynolds led superhero action comedy 'Deadpool' continued demolishing the box office, bringing in $31.1 million for an outstanding and monstrous $285.3 million in just three weeks of play. That is down just 44.9% from last weekend, stabilizing nicely after its nosedive in its second weekend. 'Deadpool' has been performing way ahead of expectations and has become the highest-grossing X-Men movie ever as well as becoming the third-biggest R-rated movie of all time, ahead of 'The Matrix Reloaded' ($281.6m) and 'The Hangover' ($277.3m). Among comic book and superhero movies, it ranks 13th on both charts ahead of 'The Amazing Spider-Man' ($262m). Next it will be passing 'Man of Steel' ($291m), whose follow-up 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' will try snatch one of the biggest openings of all time, and is looking at a finish between 'Guardians of the Galaxy' ($333.2m) and 'Spider-Man 2' ($373.6m). Unfortunately, it is no longer a guarantee it will pass $400 million domestic, but with such a small budget that doesn't really matter. Worldwide it made another $40.1 million, bringing its foreign gross to $324.1 million and $609.3 million. The only other X-Men movie to gross more than $600 million worldwide is 'X-Men: Days of Future Past', which benefited greatly from rapid market growth and ended its run with $747.9 million worldwide, a number 'Deadpool' is likely to pass.<br />
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In a distant and horrible second place, the $140-million Alex Proyas directed original action fantasy 'Gods of Egypt' flopped very hardly with only $14.1 million ($4.5k PTA). While that is generally in line with pre-release in expectations ($10m-$15m), it is still a terrible start for the big-budget film. It opened way below 'Exodus: Gods and Kings' ($24.1m) and 'Clash of the Titans' ($61.2m) and even failed to match 'Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters' ($14.4m). Among the director's previous outings, it failed to reach the openings of 'I, Robot' ($52.2m) and 'Knowing' ($24.6m). Don't worry about star Gerard Butler though, who will get another chance at box office glory next weekend with the action sequel 'London Has Fallen'. Ultimately, the whitewashing of the cast caused a bit of a stir, and big-budget originals generally don't do well nowadays.<br />
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Opening with a poor $4.8 million ($800k from Thursday) on Friday, 'Gods' increased 17.4% on Saturday for $5.6 million and fell 33.4% on Sunday to gross $3.7 million. That is a weekend-to-Friday ratio 2.94-to-1, which is one of the only positive notes in this weekend's performance. However, that will matter little in the long run as disastrous reviews (12% on RT) and middling word-of-mouth (49% Flixter score) will surely keep it back from holding up as well as the ratio suggests. It would be surprising if it made much more than $35 million total.<br />
'Kung Fu Panda 3' managed to enjoy one last weekend in peace before next week's 'Zootopia' disrupts it, pulling in $8.9 million and dropping just 28.9% from last weekend. The $140-million animated comedy sequel has so far grossed $128.4 million since opening on January 29, and should wind up with around $145 million total.<br />
'Risen' held up pretty well this weekend, falling just 42.3% to make $6.8 million. The $20-million faith-based drama hasn't been relying on critical reviews (57% on RT) but instead on solid word-of-mouth ('A-' CinemaScore). With $22.5 million so far, 'Risen' will hope to hold up well against an onslaught of faith-based films in March and April. $40 million is likely.<br />
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'Triple 9' was even slower than 'Gods', eking out just $6.1 million from 2,205 locations for a lackluster $2.8k average. The $20-million ensemble led crime thriller from Open Roads was widely expected to be the break-out performer of the weekend with around $9m-$12.5m, but it clearly failed to meet those standards. With a lot more appealing options in the market already, it would make sense for audiences to skip this. Reviews were far from promising (55% on RT), but word-of-mouth was even worse ('C+' CinemaScore).<br />
On Friday, the film grossed $2.1 million, increased 12% on Saturday to earn $2.4 million, and fell 35% on Sunday to make $1.6 million. The weekend-to-Friday ratio is 2.9-to-1, which is the weakest of the new releases. With middling word-of-mouth, it's unlikely it will reach $20 million by the end of its run.<br />
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'Eddie the Eagle' fared the worst for the new releases, though it won't cost
the studio as much money. The $23-million sports dramedy rounded up $6.1
million for a $2,980 per-theater average. Starring Taron Egerton and
Hugh Jackman, expectations for this film were always modest ($7m-$8m),
but no one expected an opening this low. If it opened closer to the 2016
Olympics in August instead of early in the year (this might have
benefited last weekend's 'Race' as well), 'Eddie' may have been
something noteworthy, but the timing just wasn't right.<br />
On
Friday, 'Eddie' grossed $1.9 million ($175k from Thursday night shows),
increased an encouraging 43.2% on Saturday to gross $2.8 million, and
declined a troubling 50.6% on Sunday to claim $1.4 million. The weekend-to-Friday
ratio here is a strong 3.21-to-1, which means that 'Eddie' has a chance
at holding up well in the coming weeks. Solid reviews (73% on RT) and
word-of-mouth (88% on Flixter) should certainly help as well. A $20
million finish is very likely for the feel-good, family-friendly pic.<br />
Overall, the Top 12 this weekend made $97.5 million, which was down 22.1% from last weekend but up 4.3% from last year when 'Focus' took the top spot.<br />
Next week sees the highly-anticipated release of Disney's 'Zootopia', the questionable release of 'London Has Fallen', and the release of Tina Fey's 'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot'.Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7632479209809674026.post-27714951877462848052016-02-15T18:59:00.000-08:002016-02-16T17:31:20.781-08:00Weekend Actuals: 'Deadpool' Explodes to the Top Spot, 'How to Be Single' Benefits from Date Night Audiences, 'Zoolander' Stumbles In what is now one of the most historic box office weekends ever, R-rated superhero comedy 'Deadpool' shot up a bunch of records with a very strong debut, 'How to Be Single' provided solid counter-programming, and 'Zoolander 2' pretty much fell flat on its face.<br />
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<a href="http://s3.foxfilm.com/foxmovies/production/films/103/images/gallery/deadpool-gallery-01-gallery-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://s3.foxfilm.com/foxmovies/production/films/103/images/gallery/deadpool-gallery-01-gallery-image.jpg" height="172" width="320" /></a> Easily taking the weekend crown, the $58-million R-rated superhero comedy 'Deadpool' from Fox grossed an estimated $132.4 million (and $152.2m over the four-day weekend). It demolished expectations as well as a few records, including the biggest February Thursday showing ($12.7m), biggest February opening day ($47.4m), biggest single day in February ($47.4m), biggest February opening, biggest 4-day President's Day weekend, biggest R-rated opening, biggest opening for an R-rated comic adaptation, biggest winter opening, and biggest Fox opening. It opened $47.2 million ahead of last year's $40-million romance hit 'Fifty Shades of Grey', which debuted to $85.2 million ($93m four-day) on the same weekend. It is also ahead of 'The Matrix Reloaded' ($91.8m), 'American Sniper' ($89.3m), and '300' ($70.9m). Among comic-book-adapted openers on the same weekend, 'Deadpool' easily took down 'Ghost Rider' ($45.4m) and its sequel ($22.1m), 'Daredevil' ($40.3m), 'Constantine' ($29.8m), and 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' ($36.2m), another R-rated Fox surprise hit. In fact, it beat all those opening weekends on its opening day, which is quite a feat. Expectations ranged from $75m-$95m for the four-day weekend, which makes this performance all the more impressive. Ultimately, the marketing is the main reason this film is such a huge success. From the Red Band trailers and the irreverent posters to the emoji billboards and "graphic info-graphic" (as described by comicbook.com), Fox has made it clear that they are not only targeting the fans of the cult character, they are also trying to get it to click with casual moviegoers. And it's clearly paid off, big time. Add in strong reviews (83% on RT) and very surprisingly solid word-of-mouth (95% Flixter score), it should hold up stronger than expected as well.<br />
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Starting out with $47.4 million on Friday (including $12.7m from Thursday), 'Deadpool' fell a slim 10.2% on Saturday to gross $42.5 million and increased 0.2% on Valentine's Day to gross $42.6 million. It fell 53.6% on President's Day to make $19.8 million. The (3-day) weekend-to-Friday ratio is a very solid 2.79-to-1. That's much better than the 2.56-to-1 ratio of 2014's 'X-Men: Days of Future Past', the 2.52-to-1 ratio of 2007's '300', and the 2.25-to-1 ratio of 2009's 'Watchmen'. What's ironic is that the spin-off's opening is way higher than any debut from the franchise that spawned it. The previous franchise high was 'X-Men: The Last Stand' ($102.8m), which 'Deadpool' absolutely demolished. Because of the aforementioned solid reviews and phenomenal word-of-mouth, I expect 'Deadpool' to hold up better than your average superhero movie, which is why I think it's very likely it will close in the $365m-$385m range. It might even have a chance at clearing $400 million, though we'll have to wait the next couple weeks to see if that's possible.<br />
In second place, 'Kung Fu Panda 3' held up very well with $19.8 million, down just 7% from last weekend. The $140-million animated comedy grossed $25.9 million for the four-day weekend, making it increase 22% from last weekend and push past the $100-million mark. So far, 'Panda' has grossed a solid $100.2 million in three weeks, and will make a run for $145 million total.<br />
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In third place, Warner Bros.' $38-million romantic comedy 'How to Be Single' proved to be the best counter-programming against 'Deadpool' among the newcomers this weekend, taking in $17.9 million ($19.9m four-day). That is right in line with pre-release expectations ($19m-$20m for the 4-day weekend). Due to her breakout performance last year in 'Fifty Shades of Grey', Dakota Johnson now seems like a viable box office draw, and Rebel Wilson is still a growing star. Even though reviews aren't that kind (47% on RT), audiences are more forgiving ('B' CinemaScore).<br />
'How to Be Single' began with $5.3 million on Friday, increased an encouraging 13.6% on Saturday to make $6 million, and increased another 11.7% on Sunday to earn $6.7 million. It fell 69.6% on Monday to make $2 million. While it's unlikely it will be leggy enough to triple this opening, it should still hold up fairly well in the coming weeks. It should make at least $45 million before the end of its run.<br />
<a href="http://i.perezhilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/kristen-wiig-zoolander-2-set-rome(1)__oPt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.perezhilton.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/kristen-wiig-zoolander-2-set-rome(1)__oPt.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a> In a very disappointing fourth, Paramount's $50-million comedy sequel to the 2001 cult hit 'Zoolander 2' brought in just $13.8 million over the three-day weekend and $15.9 million over the four-day weekend. Unfortunately, that first figure is actually below the UNADJUSTED opening of the first 'Zoolander', which debuted to $15.5 million. It's obvious that the cast aren't reliable box office draws now, but that's not the only factor. Opening against 'Deadpool' already limited its potential, and now that 'Deadpool' has demolished expectations and records, poor 'Zoolander' only has the fans of the original to turn to. And even then some didn't show up due to the poor reviews (22% on RT) and unconvincing word-of-mouth (35% Flixter score).<br />
'Zoolander' began with $4.2 million on Friday, increased 10.7% on Saturday and earned $4.6 million, and increased 9.4% on Sunday to make $5.1 million. On Monday the comedy dropped 59.6% and grossed $2 million. With horrid reviews, troubling word-of-mouth, and overall disinterest among moviegoers, 'Zoolander' should fade away quickly. It would truly be surprising if it made much more than $33 million.<br />
Fifth belonged to 'The Revenant' for 3-day weekend, bringing in $6.5 million (-6%). In the end, the $135-million Leonardo DiCaprio led Western thriller has grossed $159.8 million. It is on the verge of passing 'Django Unchained' ($162.8m) and 'Catch Me If You Can' ($164.6m) to become DiCaprio's third biggest movie ever behind only 'Titanic' ($658.7m) and 'Inception' ($292.6m). A $180 million finish is likely at this point. 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' took the spot in the four-day weekend with $7.6 million (+9.6%) for a new total of $916.3 million. Expect a $930 million finish for the record-breaker. It landed in seventh for the 3-day weekend with $6.2 million (-11.7%).<br />
<a href="http://www.hailcaesarmovie.com/images/gallery/img3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.hailcaesarmovie.com/images/gallery/img3.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a> Sixth place was occupied by 'Hail, Caesar!' for the three-day weekend and 'The Revenant' for the four-day weekend. The former took in $6.4 million (-43.7%) in three days and $7.4 million (-35.1%) in four. 'Revenant' grossed $7.6 million (+9.3%). As for 'Caesar!', it's performing unusually front-loaded for a Coens film due to weak word-of-mouth (46% Flixter score). With a disappointing $22.1 million in two weeks of play, $30 million seems doable.<br />
Eight and ninth places belonged to 'The Choice' and 'Ride Along 2' in both weekends. The former brought in $5.2 million (3-day/-13.7%) and $5.8 million (4-day/-3.7%) while the latter grossed $4.5 million (3-day/-2.2%) and $5.1 million (4-day/+11.5%). 'Choice' grossed $13.2 million in two weeks and should end its run with around $18 million while 'Ride Along' has gathered $83 million and will probably close with over/under $90 million.<br />
<a href="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/disney/thefinesthours/images/thumbnail_22506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/disney/thefinesthours/images/thumbnail_22506.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a> Tenth, eleventh, and twelfth places were tightly bunched together for the three-day and four-day weekends. Tenth was 'The Boy' with $3.1 million (-23.1%) and $3.6 million (-12.5%), eleventh was 'The Finest Hours' which brought in $2.7 million (3-day/-43.7%) and 'Fifth Wave' with $3.3 million (4-day/-12.4%), and twelfth was 'The Fifth Wave' with $2.7 million (3-day/-28.4%) and 'Finest Hours' $3.2 million (4-day/-32.9%). 'The Boy' ($31.4m) and 'The Fifth Wave' ($30.1m) have been displaying stronger-than-expected holding power thus far, but unfortunately 'Finest Hours' ($23.8m) is slowing down significantly. I expect a $35 million finish for both 'Boy' and 'Fifth Wave' but no more than $28 million for 'Finest Hours'.<br />
Overall, this weekend's Top 12 grossed a massive $221.2 million ($257.5m four-day), which is up a whopping 169.7% from last weekend and up 10.2% from last year (+11.3% from the four-day weekend) when 'Fifty Shades' broke the record. This is by far the biggest President's Day weekend ever in history, pushing the yearly total to $1.476 billion (+1.2% from the same point last year).<br />
Next weekend should be a lot quieter with 'Deadpool' repeating in first. Sure, the new releases could break out, but it still won't be enough to match this weekend. The newcomers include Focus Feature's 'Race', the Jesse Owens biopic that will attempt to replicate the success of '42' and avoid the failure of 'Get On Up', Sony's 'Risen', a new tale about Jesus that will try to differentiate itself from previous faith-based epics, and A24's 'The Witch', which is going straight into wide release, a first for the studio. Michael Gabornohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02187986762225069682noreply@blogger.com0