After the summer season closed with less than stellar results, Warner Bros./New Line’s It hopes to bring a jolt to the humdrum box office. The weekend’s other release is Open Road’s Home Again, a rom-com starring Reese Witherspoon. Predictions are below.
It (Warner Bros./New Line)
There’s precious little I can say here that hasn’t already been said – Andre Muschietti’s It will be a big hit, without question (barring a major fluke). The Stephen King adaptation’s marketing campaign has been unnerving and effective, and the first trailer garnered a gigantic 197 million views in 24 hours, beating The Fate of the Furious and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Reception for It has been glowing – the film has a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (avg. critic score being 7.3/10 from over 80 reviews) and an 8.5/10 on IMDb from over 2,800 scores. It also helps that It is based on a bestselling, beloved novel that has had a presence for 31 years. Yet another factor in It’s favour is the drought of enticing titles in theatres, and I imagine it will draw in a good amount of walk-up business.
The opening record for an R-rated horror film (and for a “pure” horror movie period) sits with Paranormal Activity 3 ($52.57m), a milestone that It should easily eclipse. It is also likely to take the September opening crown (held by Hotel Transylvania 2 with $48.46m). The estimated location count for It is 4,000+ theatres, the widest release for a horror film. Fandango has also reported that It is the highest pre-selling horror movie in its history. This is a film that has hit a cultural nerve and there is little doubt it will be the highest-grossing movie of the month. Considering It cost $35m to produce, Warner Bros. and New Line ought to be pleased.
Prediction: $70 million, #1 rank
Home Again (Open Road)
Yes, there is another nationwide release in the wake of It. Hallie Meyers-Shyer (daughter of the popular director Nancy Meyers) makes her screenwriting and directorial debut with Home Again, starring Reese Witherspoon as a single mom in L.A. who allows three young men to move in with her. Admittedly, the buzz for this film is relatively low (though that could be due to the fact It has stolen this weekend’s thunder), but it could serve as a decent piece of counterprogramming.
Home Again has received a 44% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (avg. critic score being 4.7/10 from over 15 reviews) and no rating on IMDb as of this writing. The critical brush-off thus far doesn’t bode well for Home Again’s prospects, but Reese Witherspoon is still a familiar face. Home Again cost a somewhat cheap $15m to produce as well, so it doesn’t need to be a smash hit. This film shouldn’t be a financial disaster, but its performance will be merely okay.
Prediction: $10 million, #2 rank
HOLDOVERS
3. The Hitman’s Bodyguard (Lionsgate) – $4.8 million (-55%), $64.9m cume
4. Wind River (Weinstein) – $3.75 million (-40%), $25.51m cume
5. Annabelle: Creation (Warner Bros./New Line) – $3.15 million (-48%), $95.43m cume
6. Dunkirk (Warner Bros.) – $2.54 million (-42%), $183.72m cume
7. Logan Lucky (Bleecker Street) – $2.4 million (-45%), $25.84m cume
8. Leap! (Weinstein) – $2.18 million (-55%), $15.57m cume
9. Spider-Man: Homecoming (Sony) – $1.84 million (-50%), $327.52m cume
10. Girls Trip (Universal) – $1.27 million (-45%), $113.83m cume
That’s all for this weekend’s box office forecast. Thanks for reading and check back next week for final numbers.
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