Director Harmony Korine brings his drug fueled comedic sensibilities to the screen next weekend with the release of TheBeachBum. The Kids and SpringBreakers maker’s latest casts Matthew McConaughey as a stoner poet named Moondog. The supporting cast includes Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg, Jonah Hill, Zac Efron, and Martin Lawrence.
There’s a niche market for Korine’s product and more solid reviews may have assisted. However, when Bum debuted at the South by Southwest Festival, it did so to mixed reaction. It currently has a 55% Rotten Tomatoes score.
It was only recently announced that this is being rolled out in wide fashion on Friday. A screen count could change my estimate, but as of now I’ll say it’ll be lucky to reach $2 million.
TheBeachBum opening weekend prediction: $1.6 million
The Pure Flix drama Unplanned hits approximately 1000 theaters this Friday. Based on a true story, the film is focused on Planned Parenthood employee Abby Johnson, who becomes a pro-life advocate. Ashley Bratcher plays the lead role with God’sNotDead writers Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon directing.
This studio that specializes in faith-based efforts has seen its material underperform lately. Titles like Unbroken: PathtoRedemption, LittleWomen, and Indivisible have all fallen under projections in the past couple of years. Unplanned has received some publicity lately due to its R rating (a first for Pure Flix), with some outlets believing that designation is excessive.
Even with that extra attention, I’ll estimate this debuts in the $2-$3 million range.
Unplanned opening weekend prediction: $2.6 million
Blogger’s Note (03/27): My Dumbo prediction has dropped from $65.6 million to $55.6 million.
With Tim Burton at the helm, Disney’s live-action rendering of Dumbo flies into theaters next weekend. The elephant tale (based on the Mouse Factory’s 1941 animated feature) is headlined by Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green, Alan Arkin, and plenty of CG effects.
This is the first live-action remake from the studio in two years, following up on the monstrous success that was BeautyandtheBeast. That lapse in their sub genre won’t apply to 2019 as there’s three more on the way – Aladdin in May, TheLionKing in July, and Maleficent: MistressofEvil this October.
It’s also not Burton’s first foray remaking Disney classics. 2010’s AliceinWonderland was a huge hit that grossed $116 million for its start. When it comes to Beauty, Aladdin, and LionKing, they have the advantage of being based on 90s efforts as opposed to a title released 50 years prior.
Expectations for Dumbo aren’t quite as lofty and they’re in the $60-$70 million premiere range. That sound about right and I’ll put it right in the middle of those numbers, similar to what Cinderella achieved in 2015.
This weekend at the box office, it’s all about Us – as in Jordan Peele’s critically acclaimed and eagerly awaited follow-up to his breakthrough hit GetOut. It’s the only new wide release before us and you can peruse my detailed prediction post on it here:
I have the horror pic slated for a mid to high 50s debut and that should easily nab it the top spot, knocking CaptainMarvel off after two weeks in first. The rest of the top five should be populated by holdovers WonderPark and FiveFeetApart, which both exceeded expectations in their premieres, as well as HowtoTrainYourDragon: TheHiddenWorld.
And with that, my take on the weekend ahead:
1. Us
Predicted Gross: $56.8 million
2. CaptainMarvel
Predicted Gross: $36.4 million
3. WonderPark
Predicted Gross: $10.4 million
4. FiveFeetApart
Predicted Gross: $7.7 million
5. HowtoTrainYourDragon: TheHiddenWorld
Predicted Gross: $6.1 million
BoxOfficeResults (March15–17)
CaptainMarvel easily held onto first in its sophomore frame with $67.9 million, a touch below my $71.3 million projection. The Marvel blockbuster has amassed $264 million in its first ten days of release.
Animated WonderPark placed second with $15.8 million, well beyond my $10.3 million prediction. Considering its reported $100 million budget, that’s still nothing spectacular, but it is definitely on the highest end of estimates.
Romantic drama FiveFeetApart was third with $13.1 million, ahead of my $10.7 million forecast. Unlike WonderPark, the price tag here was a measly $7 million and it nearly doubled that out of the gate.
HowtoTrainYourDragon: TheHiddenWorld was fourth with $9.2 million (I said $9.4 million) for $135 million overall.
I didn’t give Mr. Perry enough credit as AMadeaFamilyFuneral rounded out the top five with $7.8 million compared to my $5.6 million take. The three-week tally is $58 million.
Spanish comedy sequel NoManchesFrida2 was sixth, opening with $3.8 million on under 500 screens. I was close at $3.4 million.
In seventh, the barely publicized alien invasion thriller CaptiveState took in just $3.1 million (I said $2.8 million).
Blogger’s Note (03/19/19): The upgrade has happened from $48.8 million to $56.8 million
Next weekend we will find out if lightning strikes again for director Jordan Peele with the release of Us. The horror pic is Peele’s eagerly awaited sophomore effort and follow-up to his 2017 debut GetOut. That film rode a cultural wave of excitement and critical raves that resulted in a Best Picture nomination and an Oscar for Peele for his original screenplay.
Perhaps not since M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable (his feature after TheSixthSense) have we seen a movie that can sold mostly on “from the director of…”. Us centers on a family being terrorized by a brood that appears to be different versions of themselves. The cast includes Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker.
Any fears of a sophomore slump were eliminated this past weekend when Us screened at South by Southwest. Reviews are strong with 100% currently on Rotten Tomatoes. GetOut exceeded opening weekend projections two years ago when it made $33 million for its start and legged out considerably to $176 million.
Us doesn’t have the benefit of unknown expectations. Peele’s name and some seriously effective trailers have prognosticators thinking this will exceed the first weekend of GetOut. Whether it experiences the smallish declines from weekend to weekend is a better question as Us should be more front-loaded with its earnings.
I’ll say mid to high 40s is where this lands with $50 million certainly being a possibility.
CaptainMarvel looks to make another giant pot of box office gold in its sophomore frame while a quartet of newcomers could struggle to get noticed. There’s the animated WonderPark, youthful romantic drama FiveFeetApart, and alien invasion flick CaptiveState debuting and you can peruse my detailed prediction posts on each of them here:
I’m not expecting much from the newbies. I didn’t do an individual post for Mexican comedy sequel NoManchesFrida2, which hits the smallest number of screens at around 450. It will likely post the highest per screen average of the premieres and I’ll forecast a $3.4 million debut for sixth place. That’s better than my take on CaptiveState. It opens in almost five times as many venues, but I’m projecting a measly $2.8 million.
Park and Feet could find themselves in a close battle for second. I’m giving the latter a slight edge. It’s also feasible that HowtoTrainYourDragon: TheHiddenWorld could stay in the runner-up spot behind the latest MCU juggernaut.
Here’s how I have the top 5 playing out:
1. CaptainMarvel
Predicted Gross: $71.3 million
2. FiveFeetApart
Predicted Gross: $10.7 million
3. WonderPark
Predicted Gross: $10.3 million
4. HowtoTrainYourDragon: TheHiddenWorld
Predicted Gross: $9.4 million
5. TylerPerry’sAMadeaFamilyFuneral
Predicted Gross: $5.6 million
BoxOfficeResults (March15–17)
I’ll give myself a little pat on the back with my CaptainMarvel prediction as it made $153.4 million and I was just a million off at $154.4 million. That’s a sterling start for Brie Larson’s heroine and I look for this to fall around 53% in its second frame.
HowtoTrainYourDragon: TheHiddenWorld fell to second with $14.6 million. I was a touch higher at $16.6 million. Total is $119 million.
TylerPerry’sAMadeaFamilyFuneral was third with $12.4 million (I said $11 million) for $46 million overall in two weeks.
TheLegoMovie2: TheSecondPart made $3.8 million for fourth place. My $3.9 million forecast was right there. It’s nearly at the century mark with $97 million.
Alita: BattleAngel rounded out the top five with $3.2 million (I said $4 million) for $78 million to date.
Originally slated to open last summer, the sci-fi alien invasion thriller CaptiveState touches down in theaters next weekend. Rupert Wyatt, best known for 2011’s RiseofthePlanetoftheApes, directs. John Goodman (no stranger to extraterrestrial beings as evidenced by 10CloverfieldLane) leads a cast that includes Ashton Sanders, Machine Gun Kelly, Alan Ruck, Kiki Layne, and Vera Farmiga.
The Focus Features release seems to be flying far under the radar. Many pics in this sub genre are high-profile releases with massive budgets. This comes with a price tag of only about $25 million. That was probably the catering receipt for WaroftheWorlds.
That said, I don’t see this recouping its minimal cost during the stateside domestic run. I’ll say this only reaches mid single digits (if it’s lucky) before it lifts off quickly to On Demand status. I’ll say it doesn’t even get there.
CaptiveState opening weekend prediction: $2.8 million
Youthful romance is center stage in the drama FiveFeetApart this Friday. Justin Baldoni directs Haley Lu Richardson (best known for Split) as a cystic fibrosis patient who catches the eye of Cole Sprouse (currently on TV’s “Riverdale”) with the same condition. Costars include Moises Arias, Parminder Nagra, and Claire Forlani.
The film is based on a novel by Rachael Lippincott. It came out in November of last year and the rights to its adaptation were sold well before its release. CBS Films is hoping this appeals to fans of TheFaultinOurStars. I believe the opening grosses of them will be many millions apart.
I’ll project this manages to reach double digits, though not by much.
FiveFeetApart opening weekend prediction: $10.7 million
It’s been a bumpy ride for Nickelodeon’s animated feature WonderPark, but it finally hits screens this Friday. Originally titled AmusementPark and scheduled for release last summer, the pic comes with a reported $100 million price tag. The film’s director Dylan Brown was fired by the studio in early 2018 due to various sexual harassment claims. Newcomer Brianna Denski provides the lead voiceover role along with familiar faces such as Jennifer Garner, Matthew Broderick, Kenan Thompson, Ken Jeong, Mila Kunis, and John Oliver.
The box office grosses for Park, considering its hefty price tag, might not be amusing at all. It doesn’t help that CaptainMarvel will be in its sophomore frame as it also appeals to family crowds. I believe this will make low double digits for its start and that would amount to a costly flop for Paramount.
WonderPark opening weekend prediction: $10.3 million
The MCU will undeniably be the captain this weekend at the box office as CaptainMarvel blasts into multiplexes. The pic comes off a banner 2017 for the studio that saw BlackPanther and Avengers: InfinityWar dominate the year. You can peruse my detailed prediction post on it here:
My forecast north of $150 million gives it the seventh largest opening of the franchise. I believe it will help tremendously that it’s seen as a bridge between InfinityWar and next month’s Avengers: Endgame.
No other studio bothered to open anything against the MCU juggernaut. That means two-time champ HowtoTrainYourDragon: TheHiddenWorld will dip to second position. TylerPerry’sAMadeaFamilyFuneral opened well, but it should experience a rather hefty decline as other Madea titles have. Holdovers Alita: BattleAngel and TheLegoMovie2: TheSecondPart might be close vying for fourth place.
And with that, my top 5 take on the Marvel-ous weekend:
1. CaptainMarvel
Predicted Gross: $154.4 million
2. HowtoTrainYourDragon: TheHiddenWorld
Predicted Gross: $16.6 million
3. TylerPerry’sAMadeaFamilyFuneral
Predicted Gross: $11 million
4. Alita: BattleAngel
Predicted Gross: $4 million
5. TheLegoMovie2:TheSecondPart
Predicted Gross: $3.9 million
BoxOfficeResults (March1–3)
As mentioned, HowtoTrainYourDragon: TheHiddenWorld stayed atop the charts for a second time despite Madea. The Dreamworks Animation pic took in $30 million, a bit under my $32.2 million projection. It’s staring at the century mark with $97 million.
Tyler Perry has claimed AMadeaFamilyFuneral is the character’s swan song. If so, she went out on a high note with $27 million compared to my $22.8 million estimate. That’s the franchise’s third best starting haul.
Alita: BattleAngel was third with $7.2 million (I said $6.3 million) for $72 million overall.
TheLegoMovie2: TheSecondPart was fourth with $6.6 million. I was lower at $5.3 million. It’s built its earnings up to $91 million.
FightingwithMyFamily was fifth at $4.6 million. I incorrectly had it outside the top five. It’s made $14 million in two weeks.
Greta was the weekend’s non-Madea newbie and it debuted in eighth place with a ho-hum $4.4 million. I had it at $5.6 million.