Friday Box Office Analysis
By Tim Briody
September 26, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com
The CGI sequel capitalizes on a marketplace that hasn’t seen anything directly aimed at kids since Minions and takes in $13.2 million on Friday, a little bit stronger opening day than the $10.9 million Hotel Transylvania took in on this weekend in 2012. The first film turned that Friday into a solid $42.5 million weekend. There’s no reason that something similar isn’t in the works for the sequel, so give Hotel Transylvania 2 a weekend of $47.5 million.
The Intern
Starring Robert DeNiro and Anne Hathaway, The Intern is aimed at older people, as Nancy Meyers films are wont to be. It comes in a solid second on Friday with $6.2 million. Much like Hotel Transylvania, The Intern should also play strongly over the rest of the weekend due to the target audience. A weekend of $18.6 million is just fine.
Everest
Expanding from premium theaters to everywhere this weekend, Everest earns a disappointing $4 million on Friday, which is still a 74% increase from last Friday. The platform release plan probably didn’t work out as well as Universal had hoped. A weekend of $11.2 million is okay, but perhaps going wide all at once was the better idea.
The Green Inferno
As if to prepare us for Knock Knock in a couple of weeks, this weekend we get an Eli Roth horror film that has been on the shelf for a couple years. The Green Inferno was released in 1,540 theaters and only earns $1.5 million on Friday. Well, at least it only cost $6 million to make. It’s looking at about $3.5 million on the weekend.
Sicario
In just 59(!) theaters, Sicario lands in 10th place on Friday with $550,000. Starring Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin, the drama focusing on the US/Mexico border and drug war is getting critical acclaim and is a potential Best Picture nominee, so this is of course a great start. $1.7 million is a strong weekend for a film you’ll be hearing more about over the next several weeks.
Notable Holdovers
Last weekend’s wide releases both take tumbles, with Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials off 63% from last Friday to $4.1 million while Johnny Depp’s Black Mass takes a 60% drop to $3.5 million. Look for a second weekend of $12.3 million for The Scorch Trials, while Black Mass will settle for $10.5 million.