After a couple of lackluster weekends at the box office, we finally have a set of films that should breathe some life back into the weekend box office.
The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part is one of four new wide releases this weekend and it’s a lock to lead the pack. The first film opened back in 2014, five years ago today to be precise, and was a surprise hit with a solid $69 million opening. The film went on to gross $257.7 million at the domestic box office and thus, a new franchise was born. The LEGO Batman Movie followed in 2017 and opened to $53 million and grossed $175.7 million by the end of its run. The brand hit a little bit of a stumble with The LEGO Ninjago Movie which opened to $20.4 million and grossed $59.2 million domestically. The film was saved a bit by foreign grosses which pushed the film to $123 million worldwide.
While the last film underperformed, it was more of an offshoot from the main franchise so there will be much more interest in this direct sequel. Voice stars Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks have been pounding the pavement hard promoting the film and it is further boosted by a $100 million global campaign that includes advertisers such as Chevrolet, Chiquita, Discover, McDonald’s, and Turkish Airlines. Paid previews were held in around 550 locations nationwide two Saturdays ago and they rang up around $400,000
Reviews are also pretty solid for the film with a strong 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and with President’s Day approaching next weekend, The LEGO Movie 2 should have a pretty amazing run at the box office. I’m calling $55-60 million for the weekend.
Our next wide release is What Men Want, starring Taraji P. Henson, which is likely to take second place at the box office. The film is an inverse remake of the hit Mel Gibson 2000 comedy What Women Want & should play strong with females and African Americans over the weekend. This take on the story is about a woman who is boxed out by the male sports agents in her profession but gains an unexpected edge over them when she develops the ability to hear men’s thoughts. As of now, the film is 57% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes which isn’t stellar but it also isn’t a dumpster fire either. Taraji P. Henson should bring in a crowd regardless and there isn’t exactly a film like it in the marketplace at the moment so it should do decent business. I’m calling an opening in the $18-20 million range.
The next wide release is Cold Pursuit, starring Liam Neeson, which is in the news this week for all the wrong reasons. You’d be forgiven for not knowing the film was coming out because there hasn’t been a huge promotional push but the film has garnered unintentional press due to comments made by Liam Neeson in a recent interview. Some are calling the comments “racist” although if you look further into his comments and his subsequent apology, it would appear the media is reading into it much more negatively than they should. Will this hurt the film? Well, Lionsgate did cancel the red carpet premiere in NYC but I think if people want to see the film, they will. In its favor is that the film, which sees Neeson seeking revenge against the drug dealers who he believes offed his son, is that it has received surprisingly strong reviews. It currently holds an 84% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes which may make some moviegoers give the film a shot. It won’t be a Taken but it should open ok with about $8-10 million.
The last new release is the horror film The Prodigy, starring Taylor Schilling. The film is about a mother whose young son seems to be possessed. She must choose between her maternal instinct to love and protect him and a desperate need to investigate what could be making him so crazy. The reviews aren’t too bad for horror at the moment (59% rotten on Rotten Tomatoes) and even though there hasn’t been huge buzz, the $6 million film should generate enough interest to make some kind of impression. A big selling point for the film is that the Child’s Play reboot trailer is attached to the film so if that generates enough online interest, it could get some butts in the seats. I’m thinking it could be close between Cold Pursuit and The Prodigy with the latter pulling about $7-8 million for the weekend.
