Box Office: Newcomers Crushed by ‘LEGO Batman’, ‘Fifty Shades’

Drew Dietsch
Movies DC
Movies DC

The box office was home to three new wide releases this weekend. Unfortunately, none of them broke through and the big holdovers reigned supreme. The LEGO Batman Movie (Nick’s review) topped the charts with nearly $35 million added to its total. And Fifty Shades Darker (my review) pulled in another $20 million. Suffice to say, both of these films will end up making well over $100 million once they’re all done.

Of all the newcomers, The Great Wall (my review) performed the best but still did lackluster business for such a grand production. Maybe the holiday weekend will help boost it a bit but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Fist Fight was hoping to be the breakout of the bunch but came in on the low end of projections. The big disappointment is A Cure for Wellness (Kim’s review), a mid-budget horror film that has to be seen to be believed. Looks like it was just too weird to live but too strange to die.

The Numbers Game

Each week, I will guess how much wide-release films will be making on their opening weekend. My estimates come from my heart and my gut. You’d think I’d use my brain, but that makes far too much sense.

Last Week:

The Great Wall
My Guess: $29,000,000
Actual: $18,079,140
Result: OK, all of my guesses are going to be off since I projected for four days but have to report on three. Even then, this one definitely hit under expectations.

Fist Fight
My Guess: $20,000,000
Actual: $12,015,000
Result: This could pan out for my four-day prediction. It wanted to do a heck of a lot more.

A Cure for Wellness
My Guess: $18,000,000
Actual: $4,2oo,000
Result: Ow! I can’t even use my four-day excuse here. This is a major flop. Maybe because it’s just so damn weird.

This week:

Get Out

box office get out feature hero

The hype among horror fans is huge for this one. Will general audiences be as curious about Jordan Peele’s directorial debut? This is around the same timeframe as It Follows released, so it’s clear that the studio thinks it could be a sleeper hit. The advertising has been freaky and mysterious, and the clear social commentary is bound to piss off a good number of people. For my money, this is the movie to see this weekend. It’s possible it could end up being the best horror film of the year.

My guess: $18,000,000

Collide

box office collide

Hardly any marketing has been done for this film, and that often means it’s not something the studio is super confident about. Even with Felicity Jones hot off the release of Rogue One, this isn’t getting any big love as far as promotion is concerned. Awareness counts for a lot at the box office. Truth be told, I just found out about this movie this week. That should tell you something.

My guess: $7,000,000

Rock Dog

rock dog box office

This cheaply animated Chinese co-production would look rough (ruff? I’m sorry) on a normal weekend, but The LEGO Batman Movie is going to make this look even less appealing to parents. Audiences are usually pretty smart when it comes to sniffing out (the dog puns are just happening. I can’t control myself) lesser content and Rock Dog definitely looks like that. Don’t be surprised when this flick gets put to sleep (OH COME ON).

My guess: $2,000,000

See you next week, box office buddies!

Source: Box Office Mojo

Drew Dietsch
Drew Dietsch has been professionally writing about entertainment for over a decade. His bylines include FANDOM - where he was a founding contributor and Entertainment Editor - Bloody Disgusting, SYFY WIRE, and more. He created and hosts GenreVision, a weekly film discussion show at genrevision.com.