Meryl Streep headlines the autobiographical comedic drama Florence Foster Jenkins, opening next weekend. Casting the record-setting Oscar nominee as the New York heiress in the early 1940s whose dream was to perform at Carnegie Hall (despite a questionable voice), Jenkins comes from The Queen director Stephen Frears. The supporting cast includes Hugh Grant, Simon Helberg, and Rebecca Ferguson.

The pic will attempt to bring in an older and mostly female audience as counter programming during the dog days of August. Reviews have been encouraging with a 92% Rotten Tomatoes rating. In fact, Ms. Streep could be on the cusp of her 20th Academy Award nomination (especially if this performs well stateside).

That prospect is a bit questionable – both with box office numbers and a potential Oscar nod. Our lead does have a history in recent years with August premieres. 2009’s Julie and Julia scored with a $20 million start. 2012’s Hope Springs made a decent $14.6 million. Last year’s example wasn’t as successful as Ricki and the Flash (which received mixed critical notes) premiered with just $6.6 million. My estimate puts Florence a little closer to Ricki considering its rather low screen count opening of 1500 theaters.

Florence Foster Jenkins opening weekend prediction: $8.2 million

For my Pete’s Dragon prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/08/03/petes-dragon-box-office-prediction/

For my Sausage Party prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/08/03/sausage-party-box-office-prediction/