A legitimate wild card this weekend at the box office could be Ex Machina, a British science fiction tale that’s been on the receiving end of positive reviews and impressive per screen averages in limited release. It opens nationwide Friday, though I’ve yet to see a screen count which makes a prediction a little more complicated. Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac are among the cast in the directorial debut of Alex Garland, writer of 28 Days Later and Dredd.
The critically acclaimed feature (it sits at 88% on Rotten Tomatoes) made nearly $800,000 on just 39 screens last weekend for a sparkling $20k per screen average. That could bode well for filmgoers looking for a more serious sci fi offering before the summer onslaught begins with Avengers next weekend.
Again, without a screen count, it’s a tricky projection but I’ll estimate Ex Machina finds its way into the top five.
Ex Machina opening weekend prediction: $7.1 million
The Kevin James sequel Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 may have slightly outdone expectations this past weekend, but his new picture out Friday seems poised to do minor business. James costars in Little Boy, a World War II drama with comedic elements that also features Emily Watson, Michael Rapaport and Ben Chaplin.
Opening on roughly 1000 screens, Little Boy has had a muted marketing campaign and early reviews have been underwhelming. The Open Road release actually seems like a prime candidate for an On Demand only debut and I’m a little surprised it’s premiering as wide as it is.
I’ll predict Little Boy does little b.o. activity at all.
Little Boy opening weekend prediction: $2.1 million
The final weekend at the box office in 2015 will likely be memorable only as “the weekend before Avengers: Age of Ultron comes out” as that summer season kick off blockbuster may be poised for the largest domestic opening of all time.
As for this weekend, the romance The Age of Adaline with Blake Lively and Harrison Ford comes out. You can read my detailed prediction post on it here:
Adaline does have a shot at the top spot, but I’m projecting it will fall a bit short of Furious 7, allowing that enormous hit to have its fourth weekend at #1.
The real wild card this weekend is Ex Machina, a critically acclaimed British science entry starring Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac. My prediction post on it is here and I’m estimating it’ll land in fourth place:
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 got off to a healthy start last weekend and should lose about half its audience in its sophomore frame. Horror flick Unfriended should drop over 50%, as most pics of its genre in their second weekends do. Home, Dreamworks animated solid performer, should round out the top five.
There’s also Little Boy, a World War II comedic drama with Kevin James. Huh? I don’t expect much out of it as it should fall far outside of the top six:
Predicted Gross: $15.6 million (representing a drop of 46%)
2. The Age of Adaline
Predicted Gross: $13.3 million
3. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
Predicted Gross: $12 million (representing a drop of 49%)
4. Ex Machina
Predicted Gross: $7.1 million
5. Unfriended
Predicted Gross: $6.9 million (representing a drop of 56%)
6. Home
Predicted Gross: $6.5 million (representing a drop of 39%)
Box Office Results (April 17-19)
In its third weekend, Furious 7 was tops again with $29.1 million, just under my $30.4M estimate. The Universal juggernaut stands at $294 million.
Kevin James surpassed most expectations as his critically drubbed Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 earned $23.7 million, a bit higher than my $21.4M prediction. The sequel couldn’t match the $31 million accomplished by the original, but it wasn’t expected to and this is a solid result.
Similarly, the low budget horror entry Unfriended had a commendable $15.8 million debut, outpacing my $12.6M projection.
In fourth, Home’s $10.6 million haul came in below my $12.3M estimate and its total is at $142 million. In its second weekend, romantic drama The Longest Ride was fifth with $7 million. My prediction? Exactly that! It’s made $23 million in its ten days of release.
Disney’s nature documentary Monkey Kingdom made just $4.5 million for a weak 8th place showing, not reaching my $5.9M guess. Even further down the chart and outside the top ten, the James Franco/Jonah Hill drama True Story opened on around 800 screens and managed a paltry $1.9 million (under my generous $3.7M prediction). Even worse, Child 44 with Tom Hardy premiered on just over 500 screens. I thought it would eek out a $2.1 million gross, yet it bombed badly with just $621,000 for a 17th place debut.
And that’ll do it for now, friends! Until next time…
This Friday, the romantic fantasy The Age of Adaline will attempt to unseat Furious 7’s three week reign atop the box office charts. Blake Lively stars with Harrison Ford (who turned up in a pretty cool trailer this week) and Ellen Burstyn costar.
The pic’s early critical reaction has been positive as it sits at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Still it’s difficult to see Adaline breaking through in a big way. The film should be moderately successful in bringing in a female audience as their choices have been somewhat limited as of late. Adaline should earn in the low to mid teens in the final weekend before the summer blockbuster onslaught begins. That will likely put it at #2 behind Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and company.
The Age of Adaline Box Office Prediction: $13.3 million
Three new films open in wide release with two other rather high-profile entries debuting in more limited release. The trio of newbies going wide are the Kevin James sequel Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, horror pic Unfriended, and Disney nature documentary Monkey Kingdom. You can review my detailed prediction posts on each of them here:
Blart would love to replicate the $31 million debut accomplished by its predecessor in 2009. If it manages that, it would definitely challenge the third weekend of juggernaut Furious 7 for the top spot. However, that seems unlikely and James appears poised for the runner-up position.
Unfriended certainly has the potential for a robust opening (many horror flicks over perform), but I have it only posting so-so numbers. Monkey Kingdom will be lucky to break into the top five and my prediction has it not accomplishing that kind of business.
As for holdovers, Furious should three-peat at the top while the four and five spots should be filled by Home and The Longest Ride.
Outside of the top five, the spy thriller Child 44 with Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman rolls out on only about 800 screens while the crime drama True Story with James Franco and Jonah Hill premieres in approximately 550 venues. Due to their low number of screens, their openings should be fairly minor and I didn’t bother to do individual posts about them. I’ll say Child 44 earns $2.1 million while True Story makes $3.7 million.
And with that, my top six predictions for the weekend:
1. Furious 7
Predicted Gross: $30.4 million (representing a drop of 49%)
2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2
Predicted Gross: $21.4 million
3. Unfriended
Predicted Gross: $12.6 million
4. Home
Predicted Gross: $12.3 million (representing a drop of 34%)
5. The Longest Ride
Predicted Gross: $7 million (representing a drop of 46%)
6. Monkey Kingdom Predicted Gross: $5.9 million
Box Office Results (April 10-12)
As expected, Furious 7 easily topped the charts in weekend #2 with $59.5 million, just above my $56.5M estimate. The blockbuster has amassed an amazing $251 million in just ten days and is likely to rule the entire month of April at the top spot.
Dreamworks animated Home continued its solid run with $18.5 million in its third weekend, topping my $15.3M projection. Its made $129 million so far.
The Nicholas Sparks adapted romantic drama The Longest Ride had a middling premiere with $13 million, close to my $12.2M prediction. With no star power, it struggled a bit to reach its target audience.
Get Hard was fourth with $8.2 million (compared to my $6.1M prediction). The Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart teaming has earned $70 million at press time. The five spot belonged to Cinderella with $7.1 million, in line with my $7.3M projection and its total stands at $180M.
Elsewhere down the chart, the Helen Mirren/Ryan Reynolds drama Woman in Gold expanded its theater count for a respectable 7th place showing at $5.4 million.
And that’ll do it for now, folks! Until next time…
DisneyNature unveils their latest animal documentary this Friday with Monkey Kingdom, narrated by Tina Fey. The doc follows a number of similarly themed pics put out by the studio in recent years, including Chimpanzee and Bears.
Chimpanzee faired well upon its release in 2012 with a $10.6 million debut. Monkey Kingdom would love to replicate that number. It might be tough. Last year’s Bears managed only $4.7 million out of the gate when it premiered on the same April weekend.
It could boil down to something as simple as this: do kids like monkeys more than bears? Probably and I believe that means Kingdom should beat the Bears opening, but not by much and not very close to what Chimpanzee accomplished.
Monkey Kingdom opening weekend prediction: $5.9 million
The genre of the found footage horror pic gains yet another entry with Unfriended, out Friday. The independent project was picked up by Universal Pictures after gaining positive word of mouth on the film festival circuit. Unfriended sits at a solid 83% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Still it’s hard to see Unfriended making much of a splash at the box office. I don’t see it quite reaching the $15 million earned by Woman in Black 2 earlier this year. Younger viewers may choose to wait to watch it on their computer screens which, by the way, is where this movie entirely takes place on. I’ll predict Unfriended manages to reach double digits and probably fade rather quickly.
Unfriended opening weekend prediction: $12.6 million
America’s favorite shopping area law enforcement agent returns to theaters as Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 opens this Friday. Kevin James is back as the title character over six years after the original became a surprise mega-hit. And it really did. The first flick opened to $31.8 million in January 2009 on its way to a $146 million domestic gross.
I don’t see the sequel posting those kinds of numbers. First off, six years is a lot of time between installments. And is there really a huge outcry for a second helping of Blart? While a debut around the original’s $30M mark seems unlikely, I could see it making around the $20 million range that James’s 2011 pic Zookeeper accomplished. Considering its reported $38 million budget, it should reap a nice profit for Columbia Pictures.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 opening weekend prediction: $21.4 million
Only one newcomer is going against the second weekend of Furious 7 as the romantic drama The Longest Ride debuts, based on the Nicholas Sparks bestseller. You can find my detailed prediction post on it right here:
I will readily admit that Ride has the potential to open bigger than my prediction. My estimate comes from the belief it will barely outdo the last Sparks adaptation, The Best of Me, which underwhelmed in its performance last year. Still, it could also serve as shrewd counter programming to Furious 7. As predicted, however, I have it landing in third.
There is no doubt that Furious will easily repeat at #1 after its massive and record setting debut this past weekend (more on that below). It’s sure to suffer a healthy decline in weekend #2, but little else could be expected after opening so big.
I have the animated Home remaining #2, though it could find itself in a close race with Ride. As for the rest of the top five, I have Cinderella remaining in fourth, as it should suffer a smaller decline than Get Hard.
And with that, my top five predictions for the weekend:
1. Furious 7
Predicted Gross: $56.5 million (representing a drop of 61%)
2. Home
Predicted Gross: $15.3 million (representing a drop of 43%)
3. The Longest Ride
Predicted Gross: $12.2 million
4. Cinderella
Predicted Gross: $7.3 million (representing a drop of 37%)
5. Get Hard
Predicted Gross: $6.1 million (representing a drop of 54%)
Box Office Results (April 3-5)
The seventh edition of the Fast and Furious franchise raced into the history books with the heftiest April opening in box office history with an astounding $147.1 million, speeding beyond my $117.4M prediction. That is good for the ninth largest premiere of all time. The series has been on an incredible hot streak lately. Paul Walker’s final screen appearance also may have added a curiosity factor for some.
Dropping to second was Home in weekend #2 with $27 million, a bit below my $29.3M estimate. The Dreamworks animated tale has done well so far with $95 million in the bank.
The critically panned Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy suffered a big drop in its sophomore frame with $13.1 million, under my $15.4M prediction. It’s earned $57 million and is highly unlikely to reach the century mark.
Cinderella was fourth with $10.1 million, on target with my $9.8M projection. The Disney live-action adaptation stands at $167M. Insurgent was fifth as it also grossed $10.1 million (just under my $10.9M prediction). Its three-week total is at $103M and it will surely gross less than its predecessor Divergent.
This Friday, the latest romantic drama adapted from Nicholas Spark hits the screen with The Longest Ride. The film would love to get to the numbers accomplished by The Notebook, Dear John, and Safe Haven. Britt Robertson and Scott Eastwood headline with Jack Huston and Alan Alda in the supporting cast.
A good portion of the Sparks adaptations have done terrific business at the box office, but last year’s The Best of Me broke that streak with a tepid $10 million debut and eventual $35 million domestic gross. My gut tells me The Longest Ride is more likely to follow suit with that as opposed to blockbusters like 2013’s Safe Haven. It could perhaps open bigger as female counter programming to Furious 7‘s second weekend, but I’m doubtful.
I’ll predict this manages to outdo The Best of Me by a hair.
The Longest Ride opening weekend prediction: $12.2 million
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