The ladies of Ocean’s Eight revived the box office a bit last weekend but Pixar is going to bring it back to blockbuster status with their long-awaited sequel, Incredibles 2.
The first Incredibles launched during the first weekend of November in 2004, grossing $70.5 million and making a household name out of director Brad Bird, and composer Michael Giacchino. The film ended its run at $261.4 million domestic, $633 million worldwide. The film became even more popular when it arrived on DVD and in the year since fans have longed for a sequel. The 14-year wait will represent a mad rush to the theater for those who have been patiently waiting for the superhero family to get back together.
The current record-holder for the biggest opening weekend for an animated film is Finding Dory with $135 million. Like Dory, which is a sequel to Finding Nemo, Incredibles 2 has an enormous amount of legacy goodwill from fans, and its second installment has been 14 years in the waiting. It’s another execution by Pixar in generating news fans and pulling in diehards in a family play that ranges from ages 2 to 80. Incredibles is one of those Pixar brands that appeals to not just kids, but to adults’ sophisticated sense of humor, unlike Cars which largely plays younger. Can you believe we’ve had two sequels to Cars in the time we have waited for Incredibles 2?
Reviews for the sequel are excellent with a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing and many kids are starting their summer break so this film should have incredible legs in the long run as well. I’m calling that it tops Dory’s opening with $140-145 million.
There are films that dare to open against Incredibles 2 but they play to a much different audience which could result in decent openings for both. First up is Tag, starring Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson, and Isla Fisher. The film is based on Russell Adams’ Wall Street Journal story about a group of grown men who still engage in a game of ‘You’re It’. We don’t really have a comedy in play right now so the film should appeal to those looking for a laugh and it will definitely appeal to younger male moviegoers. The film’s reviews are better than expected with a 62% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing, so that should push the opening a bit. I’m calling about $15-16 million for the weekend.
Last up is Superfly, a remake of the popular blacksploitation film from the 70s. The film follows career criminal Youngblood Priest, who wants out of the Atlanta drug scene, but as he ramps up sales, one little slip up threatens to bring the whole operation down before he can make his exit. The film is being targetted to an urban audience and I suspect that they will respond fondly to the film, especially on opening weekend. The movie is grounded in music, and Atlanta serves as a character in the film as the iconic cultural center for black entertainment. Future produced and wrote the original songs for the film and it only cost a reported $16 million to make. The film got an early start to the weekend with a launch last night and those numbers are still being tallied as of this writing but I’m going to protect about $12 million for its five-day opening but I wouldn’t be surprised if it debuted above expectations.
