Weekend Box Office (July 14 - 16, 2017)
THIS WEEKEND More quality franchise goodness comes to the table as sci-fi fans get to feast on War for the Planet of the Apes, the latest installment of the popular series which is also being promoted as the last chapter. 2011's Rise relaunched the brand with a $483M global run and was followed by 2014's Dawn which boosted it a few notches to $703M.
Reviews have been fantastic which will help convince people to come out once again for the latest Caesar adventure. With plenty of franchise fatigue being shown by so many other tentpoles, strong marks from critics really counts. But as good as the PG-13 film may be, for some folks it's just one Apes movie too many.
The marketing push has been strong, but there should be erosion from the $72.6M opening weekend of Dawn which also launched in mid-July. Growth in overseas markets over the past three years means that the domestic gross can take a bit of a hit while some international territories will generate franchise highs. Invading 4,022 theaters, War for the Planet of the Apes may debut to about $53M this weekend.
Despite a good concept, the horror entry Wish Upon looks to make a small dent in the box office this weekend as buzz is low and reviews are harsh. The PG-13 film about high school hell should connect with teens and genre fans, but excitement is not very high. Add in a crowded mid-July marketplace filled with more high-profile options for moviegoers and grosses should be soft this weekend. Broad Green goes out in over 2,200 locations and may collect about $7M.
Last weekend, Sony successfully rebooted its top super hero franchise with Spider-Man: Homecoming which brought on Marvel into the kitchen. Mid-week grosses have been solid and are adding nearly $50M to the pot after a stellar $117M opening weekend. Comic book movies lure in their audiences upfront and the sci-fi crowd is excited for Apes so a 55% drop would be reasonable. That would give Homecoming about $52M for the frame boosting the cume to a terrific $218M on its way to easily breaking $300M.
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Watch the trailer for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
LAST YEAR Holding the top spot for a second week, and making it five in a row for toons, The Secret Life of Pets took in $50.8M dropping by half in its sophomore session and joining the double century club in the process. Ghostbusters opened in second place with $46M for Sony on its way to $128.3M. Holdovers followed with The Legend of Tarzan at $11.4M, Finding Dory at $11.3M, and $7.7M for Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates.
This column is updated three times each week: Thursday (upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday (post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday night (actuals). Opinions expressed in this column are those solely of the author.
Last Updated: July 13, 2017 at 3:50PM ET
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