Happy New Year and welcome to the first box office predictions for 2019. It should be a weekend led by holiday holdovers with the only newcomer being horror pic Escape Room. You can find my detailed prediction post on it here:
https://toddmthatcher.com/2018/12/28/escape-room-box-office-prediction/
My low teens projection puts the newbie in the #3 slot, behind returning champions Aquaman and Mary Poppins Returns, with Bumblebee and Spider–Man: Into the Spider–Verse filling out the rest of the top five.
Let’s see how I have the high-five playing out:
1. Aquaman
Predicted Gross: $27.9 million
2. Mary Poppins Returns
Predicted Gross: $18.7 million
3. Escape Room
Predicted Gross: $13.8 million
4. Bumblebee
Predicted Gross: $12.2 million
5. Spider–Man: Into the Spider–Verse
Predicted Gross: $10.9 million
Box Office Results (December 28–30)
2018 was a record year at multiplexes and it closed out with Aquaman repeating in first place with $52.1 million, in range with my $53.8 million forecast. The DC superhero tale has amassed $189 million total.
Mary Poppins Returns was in the runner-up position yet again with $28.3 million compared to my $26.5 million estimate. The Disney sequel stands at $99 million.
Bumblebee was third with $20.9 million (I said $21.4 million) for $67 million overall.
Spider–Man: Into the Spider–Verse was fourth with $18.8 million, a touch higher than my $17.3 million take. The acclaimed animated feature crossed the century mark at $104 million.
The Mule rounded out the top five with $12.1 million, in line with my $11.5 million prediction. The Clint Eastwood thriller has made $61 million.
Vice was sixth and made the most of the two Christmas openers with $7.7 million over the traditional frame and $17.6 million since its Tuesday debut. The Dick Cheney biopic managed to top my respective estimates of $7.2 million and $14.8 million.
The critically lambasted Holmes & Watson had an underwhelming start in seventh with $7.4 million from Friday to Sunday and $19.8 million since Christmas Day. It came in under my projections of $11.3 million and $23 million.
Second Act was eighth in its sophomore frame at $7.3 million (I said $7.9 million) for a tally of $21 million.
Ralph Breaks the Internet was ninth at $6.7 million, ahead of my $5.2 million prediction. It’s up to $175 million.
The Grinch had a hefty drop-off in 10th at $4.1 million, well under my $7.3 million forecast. The total gross is $265 million.
And that does it for now, folks! Until next time…