Tag: vin diesel

Box Office Results: May 31-June 2

It’s certainly not every weekend that you can describe the box office results as truly shocking. However, this weekend… they were truly shocking. 

This is for two reasons: the over performance of Now You See Me and the under performance of After Earth. No one figured the caper flick Now You See Me had a chance of making more than Will Smith’s sci-fi pic After Earth. That’s precisely what happened.

We begin where we should though and that’s with Fast and Furious 6 remaining in the top spot with $35.1 million, a tad below my $36M projection. The sixth F+F installment experienced a sophomore weekend decline right in line with other entries in the franchise.

This brings us to #2… Now You See Me. And that would be an epic failure of predicting on my part. I grossly underestimated the picture and predicted it’d open sixth with $14.2 million. Boy, was I wrong. Garnering a rock solid A- Cinemascore average, See Me took the runner-up spot with an impressive $29.3 million. Audiences clearly were in the mood for something original and different and this seemed to be just the ticket.

And now to the enormous failure of After Earth. The M. Night Shyamalan directed sci-fi pic starring Will and Jaden Smith earned brutal reviews and, as it turns out, audience ambivalence. I incorrectly figured Smith’s star power would propel the film to a #1 opening and a $39.1 million opening weekend. Again… boy, was I wrong! Placing third, Earth debuted with a very weak $27.5 million. Earning a tepid B Cinemascore grade, expect Earth to fade fast in subsequent weekends.

Star Trek Into Darkness took fourth with $16.7 million, edging out fifth place Epic at $16.6 million. I predicted a bit more for each at $18.5M and $17.7M, respectively. And continuing its disappointing results in sixth place was The Hangover Part III, which made $16.3 million in its sophomore weekend (I predicted $17.1M).

RECAP

Fast and Furious 6

Gross: $35.1 million. Todd’s Prediction: $36 million.

Now You See Me

Gross: $29.3 million. Todd’s Prediction: $14.2 million.

After Earth

Gross: $27.5 million. Todd’s Prediction: $39.1 million.

Epic

Gross: $16.6 million. Todd’s Prediction: $17.7 million.

Star Trek Into Darkness

Gross: $16.7 million. Todd’s Prediction: $18.5 million.

The Hangover Part III

Gross: $16.3 million. Todd’s Prediction: $17.1 million.

So there you have it – not a great weekend for me predicting the new openers at all. I’ll try to do better next weekend. Tomorrow on the blog, I’ll have my opening weekend prediction for the Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson comedy The Internship. Tuesday, my opening prediction for The Purge starring Ethan Hawke. And Wednesday, my usual Top Five predictions. Stay tuned!

Fast and Furious 6 Box Office Prediction

Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Paul Walker, and company take on the Wolf Pack in an epic showdown at the Memorial Day box office this weekend. It’s beginning to look like Fast will outpace The Hangover franchise.

I wrote extensively yesterday about the Wolf Pack’s chances at the multiplex this weekend and you can peruse that post right here:

https://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/05/19/the-hangover-part-iii-box-office-prediction/

As mentioned in the blog post, The Hangover seems like a franchise that’s losing steam. We are seeing the opposite with the Furious franchise. Let’s take a trip down franchise memory lane, shall we?

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

Opening Weekend: $40.8M. Total Domestic Gross: $144.5M

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

Opening Weekend: $50.4M. Total Domestic Gross: $127.1M

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

Opening Weekend: $23.9M. Total Domestic Gross: $62.5M

Fast and Furious (2009)

Opening Weekend: $70.9M. Total Domestic Gross: $155M

Fast Five (2011)

Opening Weekend: $86.1M. Total Domestic Gross: $209.8M

You will notice that the last two Fast pics were enormous blockbusters. Fast Five not only was by far the franchise’s biggest grosser – it also earned critical respect unlike any other entry. The 2001 original had previously been the highest on Rotten Tomatoes at a decent 52%. Fast Five got 78%! Where does Fast&Furious 6 currently sit? 78%.

This all leads me to the conclusion that the sixth installment is likely to capitalize on the good will brought forth by its predecessor. Additionally, Fast 6 has the benefit of a four-day opening over a holiday weekend. If it performs similar to #5’s numbers with the extra day factored in, we could be looking at a gross of over $100 million for opening weekend.

What could stand in its way? One word: competition. The Hangover Part III and the second weekend of Star Trek Into Darkness are most certainly gunning for the same audience. This fact alone could mean that Fast 6 opens lower than expected.

However, I don’t believe it will. This franchise is red-hot at the right time and looks poised for an massive debut. I’m convinced it will be #1, landing the Wolf Pack a second place finish. Who would’ve thought this unexpected 2001 hit would turn into the franchise it is today? You gotta give Universal a lot of credit and I believe this weekend will keep the momentum going. By the way, #7 will be out next summer.

Fast&Furious 6 opening weekend prediction: $106.8 million

Tomorrow on the blog, look for my prediction for Epic, the animated feature that will attempt to get the kiddos to the theater this weekend. On Wednesday, my prediction for the Top Five including the second weekend of Star Trek Into Darkness.