It will be a huge weekend at the box office with both Sony/MGM's
22 Jump Street and Fox/DreamWorks Animation's
How to Train Your Dragon 2 opening wide. Not only do both of them have Jonah Hill involved - he co-stars in 22 and voices a character in Dragon - but they both are expected to make over $50M this weekend in a neck in neck race for the No. 1 spot that starts tonight - 22 is opening at 7 p.m. tonight and Dragon is opening at 8 p.m.
It has only happened twice before when two pictures opened to over $50M on the same weekend: Last year when World War Z and Disney's Monsters University both opened way above $60M, and in 2012 when the R-rated Prometheus and the animated family film Madagascar 3 opened over $50M. The pattern, of course, is an adult-themed and family-themed moving in to the same weekend and emerging victorious. So it can happen again this weekend.
The first installment of How to Train Your Dragon grossed to $43.7M in March and went on to gross $217.5M domestically. This one opens as kids are on summer vacati, so I expect it higher. It is also opening in 20 markets this weekend internationally with Russia accounting for 2,250 screens of the total 3,750 or 60%.
The sequel to 21 Jump Street tested higher than any R-rated comedy in Sony's history, the studio said today. The first film opened to $36.3M in March of 2012 - a non-summer release - and the studio boasted that it was the biggest opening of a non-summer, non-sequel, R-rated comedy. Yeah, all the qualifiers, right? Comedy in itself. Anyway, the film is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and if they may sound familiar as they were the team behind The Lego Movie which was probably the biggest opening for a non-summer, non-sequel, PG-rated, animated film starring Batman and with a cameo by Will Ferrell. Ahem! It is already rolling out overseas. The budget for this baby is around $65.5M with profit participations with co-star Tatum Channing, Hill and the filmmakers.
Also, in its second weekend is The Fault in Our Stars which opened to a whopping $48M last weekend and is already going into profit, and the big-budget Edge of Tomorrow, which didn't open well last weekend for its star Tom Cruise in the states but is doing much better overseas. Much of Edge 's storyline is, in fact, more tailored to an international audience as a lot of the action takes place Germany, France, Spain, Italy and eventually into the heart of Paris. Most people I know who have seen this film enjoy it; Warner Bros. is hoping it will have legs, but its mid-week numbers are meh.
The Fault In Our Stars could plummet in its sophomore frame - if it falls 50% or higher, expect it in the high teens, but its midweek numbers have been respectable. That little pic is already at at $58.1M gross since opening a week ago. Comparatively, last night, Fault gross $5M against $3.4M for Edge which has a total to date of $35.4M.
In the matter of the big tentpoles, Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures' Godzilla bows in China this weekend. The Lizard opened to $93.1M about a month ago and is at $187.5M domestically. It looks to fall short of $200M, which will be the only film in history to open at over $90M and not step over that threshold. Fox's X-Men: Days of Future Past is currently at $195M and Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is currently at around $197.2M and the studio is pulling it over the $200M mark now after six weeks in release.
Post By http://ift.tt/1qByfd6