Tag: The Jungle Book

Box Office Predictions: April 22-24

Disney should have another fantastic weekend on top of the charts with The Jungle Book, which far exceeded expectations this past weekend for a swinging debut (more on that below).

That means this weekend’s major newcomer The Huntsman Winter’s War could be in for a rough road. You can find my detailed prediction on it here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/04/14/the-huntsman-winters-war-box-office-prediction/

As I see it, the sort of prequel/sort of sequel to 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman will come in with under half of the $56 million made by its predecessor. That’ll put it firmly in second, but below expectations and far below Mowgli and company.

As for holdovers, I look for Barbershop: The Next Cut to lose not quite half its audience with Zootopia and The Boss rounding out the top five.

There is one other newcomer this week – Elvis & Nixon with Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey recreating the true life tale of The King visiting the 37th POTUS at the White House. There is yet to be a screen count for it, which makes predicting tough. Here’s my quick take: the film seems like an obvious choice for a Netflix or HBO premiere and not theatrical. I’ll say it makes $1.3 million.

And with that, my top five predictions for the weekend:

  1. The Jungle Book

Predicted Gross: $59 million (representing a drop of 43%)

2. The Huntsman Winter’s War

Predicted Gross: $26.3 million

3. Barbershop: The Next Cut

Predicted Gross: $11.2 million (representing a drop of 45%)

4. Zootopia

Predicted Gross: $5 million (representing a drop of 40%)

5. The Boss

Predicted Gross: $4.9 million (representing a drop of 50%)

Box Office Results (April 15-17)

It was a joyous week for Disney as Jon Favreau’s well-reviewed live-action remake of The Jungle Book took in an astonishing $103.2 million, way beyond my $74.6M projection. Just weeks after the studio made a killing with their animated animals of Zootopia, Mowgli and the CG animals here have given the Mouse Factory another smash. A sequel is already in development and it’s less than three weeks before their next blockbuster – Captain America: Civil War.

Barbershop: The Next Cut premiered in the runner-up spot with $20.2 million, under my $23.1M estimate. The Ice Cube three-quel came 12 years after the second installment and marked the lowest debut of the franchise (just barely below the $20.6M achieved by the original).

Melissa McCarthy’s The Boss dropped hard to third with $9.9 million compared to my $13.5M prognosis. Its two-week total is $4oM.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice also under performed my estimate with $9 million (I said $11.1M) for a total gross of $311M.

The aforementioned Zootopia was fifth with $8.1 million for a $307M total and I incorrectly had it outside my top five.

That’s because I gave too much credit to the Kevin Costner/Ryan Reynolds thriller Criminal, which tanked in sixth with $5.7 million. I said $9.3M.

And that’ll do it for now, folks! Until next time…

Oscar Watch: The Jungle Book

Disney has been on a binge remaking their animated classics as of late with 2014’s Maleficent and 2015’s Cinderella. Both were huge hits. This looks to extend to 2016 when Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book opens Friday.

That this remake of the 1967 animated tale and Rudyard Kipling’s written works is headed for box office domination isn’t so surprising. What is a bit surprising is the rapturous critical reaction Jungle has garnered. It sits at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes at press time.

This begs the question: could The Jungle Book swing its way into the hearts of Oscar voters? It’s only April, but the overall gushing reaction can’t hurt. Obviously we’re early in the Academy season to say the least. And truth be told, Book probably won’t find itself among the five to ten pics recognized.

Where might it get more attention for a gold statue nod? Well, critics have been over the moon on its visual effects. While plenty more summer blockbusters and some fall releases will be strong contenders in that race, early Jungle notices could make it hard to ignore.

Box Office Predictions: April 15-17

Disney should dominate the upcoming weekend as its live-action remake of The Jungle Book swings into theaters. It’s not the only new game in town though as Barbershop: The Next Cut and Kevin Costner/Ryan Reynolds action thriller Criminal also debut. You can peruse my detailed prediction posts on each of them here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/04/06/the-jungle-book-box-office-prediction/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/04/06/barbershop-the-next-cut-box-office-prediction/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/04/06/criminal-box-office-prediction/

I have The Jungle Book outpacing the Mouse Factory’s terrific debuts for Maleficent and Cinderella. Word of mouth and reviews are both solid and my prediction puts it just under what Zootopia earned out of the gate in March.

My prognosis is also bright for Barbershop, the third entry in a franchise that’s been dormant for over a decade. As for Criminal, I have it coming in slightly under what Costner’s 3 Days to Kill accomplished two years ago. It’s worth saying that estimate for it is a bit above others that have it coming in with less than $10M.

Current champ The Boss may fall in the low to mid 40s while Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice should continue its streak of 50% plus dips in its fourth weekend. And with that, my predictions for this weekend’s top five:

  1. The Jungle Book

Predicted Gross: $74.6 million

2. Barbershop: The Next Cut

Predicted Gross: $23.1 million

3. The Boss

Predicted Gross: $13.5 million (representing a drop of 42%)

4. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Predicted Gross: $11.1 million (representing a drop of 52%)

5. Criminal

Predicted Gross: $9.3 million

Box Office Results (April 8-10)

I predicted a tight race for the top spot between Melissa McCarthy’s The Boss and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in weekend #3. It was even closer than I thought it would be as The Boss opened in first with $23.4 million. My prediction? $23.5M! Talk about being a boss, eh? Hey, this doesn’t happen too often, so I’ll enjoy it while I can.

That means BvS slipped to second place with $23.3 million, a tad below my $24.5M prognosis. Warner Bros superhero mashup stands at $296M after three weeks.

Disney’s Zootopia was third with $14.3 million – in line with my $14.9M estimate for a total of $296M as well.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 was fourth in weekend #3 with $6.4 million, a bit under my $7.3M prediction for a $4.6M total.

Finally – landing with a major thud in fifth place was the debut of first person action flick Hardcore Henry with just $5.1 million compared to my $7.8M projection. And I was on the lower end of estimates!

And that’ll do it for now, friends! Until next time…

The Jungle Book Box Office Prediction

For the past month, Disney’s mega-hit Zootopia has cornered the family market and stampeded to a current gross of over $275 million. The next kiddie friendly blockbuster looks to be the studio’s own The Jungle Book, which swings into theaters next weekend.

From Iron Man director Jon Favreau, this animal tale remakes Disney’s 1967 animated pic based on Rudyard Kipling’s celebrated works. It also continues their recent trend (Maleficent, Cinderella) of live action remaking titles from their storied past. Book casts newcomer Neel Sethi as young Mowgli with lots of familiar faces voicing the creatures. That list includes Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, and Lupita N’Yongo.

As I see it, The Jungle Book appears primed for a terrific opening in range with the aforementioned Mouse Factory products. 2014’s Maleficent debuted to $69 million. Last year’s Cinderella premiered with $67 million. Their respective domestic hauls were $241M and $201M. Interestingly, just today, Warner Bros own Jungle Book remake (directed by Andy Serkis) has been pushed from 2017 to 2018.

Boasting a current 100% Rotten Tomatoes score should only further positive word of mouth. I believe this could potentially top the remakes that came before it and exceed $70 million.

The Jungle Book opening weekend prediction: $74.6 million

For my Barbershop: The Next Cut prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/04/06/barbershop-the-next-cut-box-office-prediction/

For my Criminal prediction, click here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2016/04/06/criminal-box-office-prediction/