Blogger’s Note (07/21): I am revising from Snake Eyes prediction down from $21.2 million to $17.2 million

23 years after its release, Paramount Pictures has answered the call of the moviegoing masses by remaking the Brian De Palma action thriller Snake Eyes with Nicolas Cage. OK, not really. While Mr. Cage is looking for his stolen sow in a different theatrical release, the aforementioned studio is rebooting the G.I. Joe franchise.

This particular Snake Eyes arrives eight years after G.I. Joe: Retaliation (which followed G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra from 2009). It’s a whole new ball game with different players. Henry Golding is in the title role with a supporting cast including Andrew Koji, Ursula Corbero, Samara Weaving, and Iko Uwais. Robert Schwentke (no stranger to franchise work having done Insurgent and Allegiant from the Divergent series) directs.

The first iteration stemming from the Hasbro toy line impressed 12 years ago with a $54 million opening haul and eventual domestic gross of $150 million. Retaliation couldn’t match it with a $40 million premiere and $122 million overall take.

I’m not so sure there’s a major clamoring for this series to be revived. There’s also M. Night Shyamalan’s Old debuting against it and competing for some of the same sets of eyeballs. My hunch is that a low to mid 20s start is where this ends up and that likely means a stateside gross topping $100 million is unreachable. That could be bad news for Paramount as they are already planning sequels. Perhaps foreign grosses will make that a reality.

Snake Eyes opening weekend prediction: $17.2 million

For my Old prediction, click here:

Old Box Office Prediction