Three new wide releases hitting theaters this weekend, one of which currently has a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and the other two were never even screened for critics. Poor quality doesn’t necessarily guarantee a box office failure, but in the case of this weekend’s newcomers, the majority of moviegoers will steer clear of dropping hard-earned cash on unworthy features.
“Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” is getting the widest release, however, as we learned from “Red Riding Hood,” folks aren’t all that interested in dark, violent spins on classic fairytales unless they star Kristen Stewart. “Hansel and Gretel” will be lucky to come in just between “Red Riding Hood” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” with a $15 million weekend one total. “Parker” is that hardcore rotten-rated release and the public will heed the warning, the movie likely only managing to match “Haywire” with $8 million. Thanks to sour early buzz and a lack of promotion, “Movie 43’s” star-studded cast can’t save it now. Even with all those famous faces on the roster, the comedy anthology will only accumulate about $8 million.
With such weak competition entering the race, “Mama” could manage to avoid the typical weekend one to two horror landslide and retain 60% of its opening profits for $17 million and another weekend in the top spot. With the Academy Awards on the horizon, both “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Silver Linings Playbook” should have no trouble holding strong. Should both drop 35%, “Zero Dark Thirty” will take $10 million and the #3 spot and “Silver Linings Playbook” will come in 6th with $7 million.
With “Gangster Squad,” “Broken City,” and “A Haunted House” all heading straight towards 50% losses, “Django Unchained” could manage to hold onto that 7th position in weekend five. Should it lose just 35%, it’ll still take another $5 million and easily trump the aforementioned, all of which will likely fall in around the $4 million mark. There’s actually a good chance “Les Misérables” could achieve the same, too, and if that’s the case, “A Haunted House” will get bumped off the top ten after only three weeks in theaters, putting “Gangster Squad” at #9 and “Broken City” at #10.
Shockya.com Predictions
1. Mama
2. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. Movie 43
5. Parker
6. Silver Linings Playbook
7. Django Unchained
8. Les Misérables
9. Gangster Squad
10. Broken City
By Perri Nemiroff (via Box Office Mojo)
