Box Office Predictions: Fourth of July Weekend

During this Fourth of July holiday weekend, there figures to be some bustling activity as Despicable Me 2 and The Lone Ranger open today while holdovers Monsters University, The Heat, and World War Z look to round out the top five.

Earlier this week, I posted my five-day prediction on how Gru and the minions will perform over the holiday weekend. It can be found here:

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/despicable-me-2-box-office-prediction/

I also wrote my detailed projection on how Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer will fare with The Lone Ranger. That post can be read here:

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/the-lone-ranger-box-office-prediction/

An expected huge opening for Despicable Me 2 may well cut into the grosses of Monsters University in its third weekend, but I still expect it to not lose half its audience. Likewise, the Sandra Bullock/Melissa McCarthy comedy The Heat will likely have a fairly small drop as well. World War Z seems poised to lose about half its audience in its third weekend.

And with that, here’s my predictions for the holiday weekend’s Top Five:

1. Despicable Me 2

Predicted Gross: $61.3 million (projected five-day opening: $104.8 million)

2. The Lone Ranger

Predicted Gross: $37.8 million (projected five-day opening: $63.9 million)

3. Monsters University

Predicted Gross: $25 million (representing a drop of 45%)

4. The Heat

Predicted Gross: $23.7 million (representing a drop of 39%)

5. World War Z

Predicted Gross: $15 million (representing a drop of 49%)

As always, I’ll be posting updates on the Facebook page throughout the holiday weekend with final results on the blog on Sunday!