Viola Davis headlines the 19th century set African action epic The Woman King on September 16th. It comes from director Gina Prince-Bythewood, who recently helmed the Charlize Theron Netflix flick The Old Guard. Based on a story co-written by actress Maria Bello, the supporting cast includes Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, and John Boyega.
With a reported midsize budget of roughly $50 million, King premieres at the Toronto Film Festival over the weekend. That’s where buzz will begin to circulate and that could help or hinder its domestic box office prospects. With the barren landscape of new material out there, this should easily premiere in first place. However, I’m skeptical this reaches the higher end of its range ($20 million). A lower teens start seems more feasible unless the chatter picks up considerably.
The Woman King opening weekend prediction: $14.7 million
For my See How They Run prediction, click here:
For my Pearl prediction, click here: