Last weekend was devoid of $80 million+ earners and it looks as though the same will be true this time around. The only two new wide releases hitting theaters are Super 8 and Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer and while Super 8 does have quite a bit of hype around it, it’ll likely find itself on par with another top-secret JJ Abrams project, Cloverfield. Back in January of 2008, Cloverfield opened to the tune of $40.1 million. As for Super 8, it’ll certainly benefit from its June release date, but likely won’t beat out Cloverfield by much, perhaps only $10 million, giving Super 8 a $50 million start.
Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer? Yeah right. With a weak and incredibly annoying promotion campaign and only 2,000 theaters lined up, Judy Moody is looking to wallow in Ramona and Beezus-sized sorrows, if not worse. Last summer, Ramona and Beezus kicked off its run with $7.8 million in 2,719 theaters with an average of $2,873 per theater. Should that per theater average stay the same for Judy Moody, it’ll find itself with just $5.5 million for opening weekend. Bummer.
Now it’s back to the old timers. Sadly, if X-Men: First Class follows in the footsteps of its franchise predecessors, it’ll watch as at least 55% of its week one earnings disappear. Should that be the case, it’s looking at about $25 million for week two. Following right behind will certainly be The Hangover Part II. Thanks to a stellar start, it’s still pulling in a pretty penny regardless of the steep decline. Last weekend it dropped a whopping 63.5% for a $31.4 million intake. Should that level out to just about 55%, it’ll snag another $14 million this time around.
As expected, Kung Fu Panda 2 is proving to have the longer legs, only losing 49.9% from week one to two as compared to The Hangover’s 63.5% drop. Ultimately, the time could come when Kung Fu Panda 2 is able to sneak right by The Hangover, but for week three, it’s still poised to lose 45%, which would give it $13 million, leaving it just short of The Hangover. As for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, it’s going down, down, down, just like At World’s End back in 2007. However, should On Stranger Tides continue on that trend, that percent change will soften in week four. Should it lose the same amount as At World’s End at this point in its run, it’ll still come in with about $10 million.
While Bridesmaids has yet to cross the 30% line in terms of cash lost, week five will likely break the streak. Ever since the release, the percentage loss has continued to creep up the slightest bit and should that happen this time around, it’ll reach the 30% mark. Still, there’s no denying that a mere 30% loss in week five is a great achievement. That would give the film another $8 million, brining its domestic grand total to about $115 million. As there’s quite a large gap between Bridesmaids and Thor, this is where we’ll see Midnight in Paris nestle right in. The film did see a 43.6% boost last weekend courtesy of an additional 89 theaters, but its per theater average also feel hard, going from $33,268 to $18,843. This weekend, the film is getting another 603 theaters. Should the per theater average drop to, let’s say, $8,000, Midnight in Paris will have a $6 million week four. Lastly, both Thor and Fast Five will lose another 50%, leaving Thor with about $2 million and Fast Five with $1.5 million.
Shockya.com Predictions
1. Super 8
2. X-Men: First Class
3. The Hangover Part II
4. Kung Fu Panda 2
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
6. Bridesmaids
7. Midnight in Paris
8. Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer
9. Thor
10. Fast Five
By Perri Nemiroff (via Box Office Mojo)
everyone go to Super 8, it’s a great movie