Cocaine Bear gets the animalistic truth in advertising award (previously held by Snakes on a Plane) as it blows into theaters on February 24th. Inspired by the true story of a creature who ingested the drug dropped by smugglers in Tennessee circa 1985, Elizabeth Banks directs. The cast (besides the bear) includes Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Christian Convery, Brooklyn Prince, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Margo Martindale, and the late Ray Liotta.
The Universal release has garnered plenty of attention to the stranger than fiction storyline. Reviews aren’t available yet and they could determine how high this gets. While the advertising campaign has been robust, its appeal might be somewhat limited.
At best, I could see this reaching high teens. Bear could also struggle to reach double digits under a worst case scenario. I’ll split the difference.
Cocaine Bear opening weekend prediction: $14.3 million
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