It’s Easter weekend at the box office and Furious 7, the seventh installment of the wildly popular Fast and Furious franchise, looks to set the all-time April opening weekend record and mark the largest debut of 2015 so far. My prediction has it managing both. My detailed prediction post can be read here:
https://toddmthatcher.com/2015/03/28/furious-7-box-office-prediction/
With Furious being the only new player this weekend (any direct competitors smartly got out of the way), that just leaves holdovers. Dreamworks animated Home had a much higher premiere than anyone (especially me) anticipated. It should dip by the low 40s in its sophomore frame.
The Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy Get Hard also experienced a solid opening, but it looks poised for a heftier fall in weekend two. Insurgent and Cinderella should round out the top five.
And with that, my predictions for the holiday weekend:
1. Furious 7
Predicted Gross: $117.4 million
2. Home
Predicted Gross: $29.3 million (representing a drop of 43%)
3. Get Hard
Predicted Gross: $15.4 million (representing a drop of 54%)
4. Insurgent
Predicted Gross: $10.9 million (representing a drop of 49%)
5. Cinderella
Predicted Gross: $9.8 million (representing a drop of 42%)
Box Office Results (March 27-29)
As mentioned, the animated Home surpassed everyone’s expectations with a stealthy $52.1 million debut, rocketing beyond my meager $24.6M projection. Clearly, family audiences were ready for something new and decided there was no place like Home this weekend.
Get Hard had a solid opening with $33.8 million, a bit above my $30.3M prediction. On the flip side, it earned a mediocre B Cinemascore grade and was savaged by critics, so it seems destined to fade pretty quickly.
Last week’s champ Insurgent fell to third with $21.5 million in weekend #2, a bit below my $24M estimate. It is currently lagging behind the pace that its predecessor Divergent accomplished and the two week total stands at $85 million.
Cinderella was fourth with $17 million, under my $19.1M projection. The Disney hit’s total is currently at $149 million.
The critically lauded indie horror pic It Follows opened fifth with a commendable $3.8 million on just 1200 screens, outpacing my $2.7M prediction.
In sixth was Kingsman: The Secret Service at $2.9 million, just under my $3.5M projection. Its total is at $119 million.
And that’s all for now, folks! Until next time…