Friday Box Office Analysis

By Kim Hollis

November 10, 2018

When it's time to get up for work.

New at BOP:
Share & Save
Digg Button  
Print this column
November keeps hopping, as after a big musical biopic last weekend, we've got a reboot/remake of a beloved Dr. Seuss classic, along with a couple of genre flicks.

It has been 18 years since the last Grinch movie. That film was a cynical holiday movie bemoaning the commercialization of Christmas even as it did the same. With Ron Howard at the helm and Jim Carrey still in a pretty well beloved position, it made a whole heck of a lot of money nonetheless. This time around, we go the animated route, with Universal/Illumination running the show. They're the same team responsible for Despicable Me and the Minions, so there's definitely a bit of a built in audience there. Also, people do love them a Grinchy tale, and even though this current iteration is just 54 percent fresh, audiences gave it an A- Cinemascore. When I went to see Overlord today, the little girl in front of me was skipping all the way up to the theater.

After an $18.7 million Friday, The Grinch is poised to have a super fantastic weekend. Remember that Monday, November 12th will be the observation of the Veteran's Day holiday in many schools as well as government audiences. So, Sunday's number should prove to be inflated. Let's call it $67 million for the weekend and a happy, happy studio, particularly as this Grinch should continue to play throughout the holiday season.





Advertisement


Also new this weekend was the World War II/Nazi/zombie?/horror film/thriller Overlord, from Paramount and Bad Robot. It's a terrific little film that deserves more viewership. With a $3.8 million Friday, I'd say we're looking at a three-day total of $10.3 million. The budget was right around $38 million, so I don't know that this will be a profitable venture; however, I could see this one moving to cult classic status.

Our final new wide release was the update of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series. We've had a couple of adaptations of the Stieg Larsson books before, including Swedish versions of his entire Millennium series, along with a David Fincher-directed American version. For this latest version, Claire Foy steps into the title role of Lisbeth Salander, whose story this time comes from a novel written by David Langercrantz. He took up the "Girl With" mantle after Larsson's death.

Sony/Columbia has to be somewhat disappointed in the result, though. Reviews were rotten - just 44 percent fresh - and the Cinemascore was a B. I don't think a lot of people will be buzzing about The Girl in the Spider's Web, though it will probably be all right on home video. Its $3 million Friday should add up to a weekend total of $8.4 million.


     


 
 

Need to contact us? E-mail a Box Office Prophet.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
© 2024 Box Office Prophets, a division of One Of Us, Inc.