It’s going to be a tight race for the number one spot between Black Panther & A Wrinkle In Time but a couple of things are certain: Disney will continue to dominate the box office &, either way it goes, diversity will still be on top after a record breaking February that saw Black Panther accelerating box office sales.
Black Panther is likely to claim the top spot but I wouldn’t be surprised if the family friendly A Wrinkle In Time edged it out ever so slightly. Ava DuVernay directed A Wrinkle in Time, becoming the first African-American woman to helm a $100 million Hollywood event film & that narrative could also put butts in the seats this weekend. The performers, including Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling & Chris Pine, have been promoting the film like crazy so awareness is very high for the Disney title. Working against it is the 44% rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes but this is meant for young kids & the reviews should be a non-factor for them & fans of the book. Tracking has this at $35-40 million but I’m predicting a top close to call race with Black Panther that could see about $45 million.
Three additional films open nationwide this weekend, but only one is likely to reach the $10 million mark in their debut: Amazon Studios and STXfilms’ Gringo, a dark comedy starring David Oyelowo, Charlize Theron and Joel Edgerton; Entertainment Studios’ The Hurricane Heist, directed by Rob Cohen; and Avrion’s The Strangers: Prey at Night, a sequel of sorts to The Strangers (2008).
Horror is always a wildcard at the box office and while The Strangers is currently rotten at 33%, the fan response on Twitter has been very positive & genre fans seem to enjoy it. The first film, also well received by genre fans, was 45% rotten but still cleared $50 million at the box office. The sequel comes a bit late after the 2008 original but I’m still calling a $13 million opening while the other newcomers debut between $5-10 million.
Check back on Monday for the full box office results.
