Category: Movies

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom roars to life with $150 million opening

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is taking a bite out of the box office.

In its opening weekend, the fifth installment in Universal Pictures’ blockbuster franchise about cloned dinosaurs running amok is on track to earn about $150 million in ticket sales from 4,475 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, claiming the No. 1 spot with ease.

That figure exceeds industry projections, which had it in the $130 million to $140 million range, and it marks Universal’s second-highest domestic debut ever (not adjusting for inflation), behind only the first Jurassic World, which bowed to $208.8 million in 2015. Fallen Kingdom is therefore coming in about 28 percent lower than its predecessor, a film that went on to earn $1.67 billion in global ticket sales.

Overseas, Fallen Kingdom will add about $106.7 million this weekend, bringing its international total to $561.5 million. The film started rolling out across the globe two weeks ago.

Directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible), Fallen Kingdom cost about $170 million to produce and finds returning stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard trying to rescue an island full of resurrected dinosaurs from an impending volcanic eruption. The cast also includes B.D. Wong, Jeff Goldblum, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith and Daniella Pineda.

Critics’ reviews were decidedly mixed, though audiences gave Fallen Kingdom an A-minus CinemaScore, suggesting the film will have decent staying power.

Dropping down to second place this weekend is Disney and Pixar’s Incredibles 2, with an estimated $80.9 million. That represents a decline of 56 percent from last week’s record-setting debut and brings the sequel’s domestic total to $350.3 million after 10 days in theaters ($485.1 million worldwide).

Arriving 14 years after The Incredibles — which grossed $261.4 million in the U.S. and Canada over its entire run — Incredibles 2 picks up right where the first film left off, with the Parr family fighting to save the day and restore the public’s trust in superheroes. Reviews for have been almost unanimously positive, and audiences gave it an A-plus CinemaScore.

Rounding out the top five this weekend are Warner Bros’. female-led heist movie Ocean’s 8, with about $11.7 million; the same studio’s R-rated comedy Tag, with about $8.2 million; and Fox’s superhero sequel Deadpool 2, with about $5.3 million.

In limited release, Focus Features’ Mister Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? will break into the top 10 in its third weekend, with about $1.9 million.

According to ComScore, overall box office is up 8.5 percent year-to-date. Check out the June 22-24 figures below.

1. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom — $150 million
2. Incredibles 2 — $80.9 million
3. Ocean’s 8 — $11.7 million
4. Tag — $8.2 million
5. Deadpool 2 — $5.3 million
6. Solo: A Star Wars Story — $4 million
7. Hereditary — $3.8 million
8. Superfly — $3.4 million
9. Avengers: Infinity War — $2.5 million
10. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? — $1.9 million

Mike Myers planning another ‘Austin Powers’ sequel

Mike Myers has given fans of his Austin Powers film franchise hope for a new sequel after insisting the chances of another instalment are “looking good”.

The comedy icon has long considered reprising his role as the quirky 1960s spy, and his nemesis Dr. Evil, for a fourth movie, and now, 21 years after the first release, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, the actor’s plans are finally starting to take shape.

Myers was asked about the possibility of another sequel during an appearance on breakfast show Good Morning America, and initially tried to dodge the question.

“I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of a movie, should a movie like that exist or not exist,” he quipped.

Dropping the act, he then gave fans an update on the proposed project’s progress.

“It’s looking good, so, we’ll see,” the 55-year-old said.

However, he suggested getting everything in place would take a little while longer, because he has to juggle his career with life as a father of three.

“It takes a lot of time,” Myers shared. “I have three kids now, so the last six years, (have been focused on) three kids under six…”

“Mostly what I try to do is stuff outside my house…!” he joked, admitting raising children with his wife of eight years, Kelly Tisdale, has made him pick less time-consuming gigs.

“I’ve been developing stuff and doing small parts…, just stuff that didn’t keep me far away from my family, so we’ll see what happens,” he added.

One person who will be rooting for Myers’ return as Austin Powers is his eldest kid, six-year-old son Spike, and after telling him all about dad’s movie career when he was young, the boy has since become his father’s biggest devotee.

“We’re at some cottage.. and it was raining and we were under a tent, and he turns to me and says, ‘Dada, can I tell you a secret…? I’m your number one fan!’,” he recalled.

“So we’re walking through New York and there’s like 10 Austin Powers (impersonators), and about five Wayne’s Worlds (sic) and about 25 Dr. Evils, and he’s like, ‘That’s my dad!’ So I think we did the right thing.”

In addition to International Man of Mystery, Myers starred in 1999’s Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember in 2002.

The latter two also featured actor Verne Troyer as his Mini-Me. He died in April, aged 49.

Mindy Kaling: White male critics are being ‘unfair’ to ‘Ocean’s 8’

“Ocean’s 8” star Mindy Kaling is making waves about white male movie critics — saying they’ve been “unfair” to the all-female-star reboot of the “Ocean’s” heist-movie franchise.

“If I had to base my career on what white men wanted, I would be very unsuccessful,” Kaling told Yahoo News. “There is obviously an audience out there who want to watch things like [‘Oceans 8’] which I work on.’’

Co-star Cate Blanchett agreed, blaming the media for not getting it right.

“The conversation has to change and the media has a huge responsibility,” Blanchett said.

Incredibles 2 smashes animation record with $180 million opening

Incredibles 2 is living up to its name at the box office.

Pixar’s spirited sequel about a family of superheroes is on track to earn an estimated $180 million from 4,410 theaters in the U.S. and Canada during its opening weekend, easily topping the box office and scoring the biggest domestic debut ever for an animated movie, not adjusted for inflation. The previous record holder was Pixar’s Finding Dory, which bowed to $135.1 million in 2016.

Incredibles 2 also marks the eighth-best domestic opening all time for any film (animated or otherwise, not adjusted for inflation), and the third-best opening of 2018, behind Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War ($257.7 million) and Black Panther ($202 million). As the parent company of both Pixar and Marvel, Disney is thus continuing its recent box office dominance.

Overseas, Incredibles 2 will add about $51.5 million this weekend from 25 territories (roughly a quarter of the international market).

Once again written and directed by Brad Bird, Incredibles 2 arrives 14 years after The Incredibles (which opened to $70.5 million in November 2004) and picks up right where the original film left off, with the Parr family (voiced by Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, and newcomer Huck Milner) fighting to save the day and restore the public’s trust in superheroes. Reviews for the sequel have been almost unanimously positive (if not always effusive), and audiences gave it an A-plus CinemaScore.

Taking second place this weekend is Warner Bros’. gender-flipped heist movie Ocean’s 8, with about $19.6 million. That represents a decline of about 53 percent from last week’s chart-topping debut and brings the film’s domestic total to about $79.2 million.

Arriving in third place, Warner Bros. and New Line’s R-rated comedy Tag will earn about $14.6 million from 3,382 locations, in line with expectations.

Based on a true story, the film stars Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Jake Johnson, and Hannibal Buress as five adult friends who have been playing the same game of tag for three decades. Tag garnered mixed reviews and a B-plus CinemaScore.

This week’s other new wide release, Superfly, Sony’s remake of the 1972 blaxploitation movie, opened Wednesday and is poised to earn about $8.4 million through Sunday, with $6.3 million coming from the weekend — below industry projections, and good for seventh place. Reviews were mixed, and moviegoers gave it a B-plus CinemaScore.

According to ComScore, overall box office is up 5.9 percent year-to-date. Check out the June 15-17 figures below.

1. Incredibles 2 — $180 million
2. Ocean’s 8 — $19.6 million
3. Tag — $14.6 million
4. Solo: A Star Wars Story — $9.1 million
5. Deadpool 2 — $8.8 million
6. Hereditary — $7 million
7. Superfly — $6.3 million
8. Avengers: Infinity War — $5.3 million
9. Adrift — $2.1 million
10. Book Club — $1.9 million

Ewan McGregor to Star in New ‘Shining’ Movie ‘Doctor Sleep’

Ewan McGregor will star as Danny Torrance in Warner Bros.’ adaptation of the Stephen King novel “Doctor Sleep,” the sequel to horror classic “The Shining.”

Sources say King has given his blessing to McGregor’s casting.

Mike Flanagan, who helmed Netflix’s adaptation of the King novella “Gerald’s Game,” is directing. Flanagan’s producing partner, Trevor Macy, will produce along with Vertigo Entertainment’s Jon Berg.

Warner Bros. had been developing this film, as well as “The Shining” prequel “Overlook Hotel,” for years, but the studio struggled to secure a budget for either film. Following the success of New Line’s “It,” every studio with any sort of King IP under its roof has fast-tracked each property into pre-production.

“Doctor Sleep” begins as Torrance carries the trauma of the Overlook Hotel into adulthood. He’s become a reflection of his murderous father, with lingering rage and a drinking problem that dulls his pain as well as his “shining” powers. Those powers return when he embraces sobriety and uses his gift to help the dying at a hospice. He establishes a psychic connection with a young girl who shares his extreme abilities, and who is being targeted by a group with similar abilities. They’ve found that their powers grow if they inhale the “steam” that comes off others with the power to shine, when they are suffering painful deaths.

Stanley Kubrick directed the original adaptation of “The Shining,” starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall. Danny Lloyd played a young Danny Torrance. At the time, the film was considered a box office disappointment, earning $44 million on a $19 million budget. Now, however, it is thought to be one of the great horror classics and has a built-in fan base ready for a sequel.

McGregor can next be seen in Disney’s “Winnie the Pooh” adaptation “Christopher Robin.” He is repped by UTA.

‘Incredibles 2’ Poised To Squash ‘Dory’s $135M All-Time Opening Record For Animated Pic

After the summer box office ratcheted down following the $125.5M opening of Fox’s Deadpool 2, Disney is looking to make up for any shortfall created by its Memorial Day weekend fumble Solo: A Star Wars Story with the release of Pixar’s Incredibles 2, which is eyeing between $135M-$150M this weekend at 4,400 theaters.

Some tracking services have the sequel around $125M, but the confidence out there from rivals is that Incredibles 2 could feasibly beat Finding Dory‘s $135M opening, which is by all accounts, the current domestic record for an animated pic’s opening.

With ComScore counting summer’s start as of the first weekend in May, we currently count $1.24 billion season to date, which is even with the same period last year, which turned out to be one of the worst summers in 11 years with $3.97B. In regards to marquee big-budget animation competition from a rival such as Illumination, Incredibles 2 has zero competition so look for its legs to be huge. Finding Dory turned around a 3.6x multiple for $486.2M stateside, while Toy Story 3 with a $110M start did a 3.76x for $415M.

Like Dory, Incredibles 2 has an enormous amount of legacy goodwill from fans, and its second installment has been 14 years in the waiting. It’s another execution by Pixar in mining news fans, and pulling in die hards in a family play that ranges from ages 2 to 80. Incredibles is one of those Pixar brands that appeals to not just kids, but to adults’ sophisticated sense of humor and sensibilities, unlike Cars which largely plays younger. Rotten Tomatoes for Incredibles 2 is currently at 97% fresh.

The first Incredibles launched during the first weekend of November in 2004, minting $70.5M and making a household name out of director Brad Bird, and composer Michael Giacchino. Pic ended its run at $261.4M domestic, $633M worldwide.

Incredibles 2‘s theater count is comprised of 400 Imax screens, 650+ Premium Large Format screens, 3,000+ 3D locations, and 210 D-Box screens. A special double feature of The Incredibles and Incredibles 2 will play exclusively in Imax starting tomorrow starting at 6pm, with regular previews beginning Thursday at 5pm. The Pixar short film Bao, directed by Domee Shi, is playing in front of Incredibles 2.

Despite the kung-fu grip that Incredibles 2 will have on the marketplace this weekend, other studios have dared to appeal to other demos, specifically Sony which is going after African American audiences with its reboot of Director X’s Superfly and New Line/Warner Bros. with their R-rated guy comedy Tag.

Tag, which is based on Russell Adams’ Wall Street Journal story about a group of grown men who still engage in a game of ‘You’re It’ is expected to file in the $12M-$16M range. Pic stars Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson, and Isla Fisher and reps the feature directorial debut of Jeff Tomsic whose credits include directing and being an EP on the Comedy Central series Idiotsitter. Tag will preview in over 2,900 locations on Thursday at 7PM and expand to 3,382 theaters on Friday. New Line budgets their comedies in the upper $20M range before P&A. Rotten Tomatoes hasn’t revealed their score yet.

Sony is getting a leg up on their Silver Pictures release Superfly tomorrow sans previews tonight. They claim it cost a reported $16M before P&A. Tracking has a $7M-$12M five-day opening spread on this pic which could file in the upper part of that range. Rotten Tomatoes at 67% is better than Sony’s previous African American feature Proud Mary which received a 28% Rotten score. There was an unprecedented turnaround for Superfly which began production in mid-January. The movie is grounded in music, and Atlanta serves as a character in the film as the iconic cultural center for black entertainment. Future produced and wrote the original songs for this pic. In Superfly, career criminal Youngblood Priest wants out of the Atlanta drug scene, but as he ramps up sales, one little slip up threatens to bring the whole operation down before he can make his exit. Pic stars Trevor Jackson, Jason Mitchell, Michael Kenneth Williams, Lex Scott Davis, and Jennifer Morrison and was written by Alex Tse.

Warner Bros./Village Roadshow’s Ocean’s 8 should ease 40-45% from its $41.6M opening for $23M-$25M. In the last four days, the Gary Ross all femme ensemble has grossed $46M and should see a pop today from discount Tuesday and older audiences.

A24’s Hereditary, which repped the NY-based distributor’s biggest opener with $13.6M, is forecasted to decline an estimated 55% with $6.1M. Pic counts $15.2M through four days.

’Ocean’s 8’ opens with $41.5M to top weekend

NEW YORK — “Ocean’s 8,” the female-fronted overhaul of the starry heist franchise, opened with an estimated $41.5 million at the box office, taking the weekend’s top spot from the fast-falling “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”

At a lower price point and in less fanboy-guarded franchise, “Ocean’s 8” — despite ho-hum reviews — found nothing like the stormy reception than the female-led “Ghostbusters” reboot did on the same weekend two years ago.

Made for approximately $70 million, “Ocean’s 8” and its cast featuring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway, set an opening-weekend best for the franchise, not accounting for inflation. The three previous “Ocean’s” films — starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon, and based on the 1960 original “Ocean’s 11,” with Frank Sinatra — all debuted with between $36-39 million in the last decade.

“Ocean’s 8,” also starring Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna and Helena Bonham Carter, drew a largely female audience — 69 per cent — for a result that slightly surpassed expectations.

“We thought we’d come in in the $35-40 (million) range,” said Warner Bros. distribution chief Jeff Goldstein. “Number one, it’s fun. Number two, it hits an underserved audience. Unfortunately, there is just a lack of stories that are aimed right at women.”

Yet the weekend’s three new wide releases were all female fronted.

The horror thriller “Hereditary,” starring Toni Collette, debuted with $13 million, setting a new company record for A24, the indie distributor behind releases like “The Witch” and “Moonlight.” The feature-film directing debut of Ari Aster, “Hereditary” has received rave reviews and been hailed as the year’s scariest movie since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival. Either from disappointment or simply because they were stunned from fear, audiences gave “Hereditary” — about a family cursed after the death of its matriarch — a D-plus CinemaScore.

Less successful was “Hotel Artemis,” starring Jodie Foster. The Global Road release, also starring Sterling K. Brown, Dave Bautista and Charlie Day, flopped with $3.2 million in 2,407 theatres. Set in a near-future Los Angeles, “Hotel Artemis” is about a members-only hospital for criminals.

Coming between more massive blockbusters like the recent “Solo” and the upcoming “Incredibles 2” and “Jurassic World,” the weekend was down about 20 per cent from last year, according to comScore, when “Wonder Woman” was setting box-office records. But some of the story was still the same.

“There’s a lot of women-powered revenue at the box office in the heat of the summer season,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “Films featuring female leads are killing it at the box office, but that’s been going on for quite a while.”

One of the early summer’s more breakout hits has been the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg documentary “RBG,” which has made $9.1 million in six weeks of release through Sunday.

Opening this weekend was another documentary that may prove a similar sensation: the Fred Rogers documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbour.” The Focus Features release grossed $470,000 in 29 theatres for a per-theatre average of about $16,000. The film, 99 per cent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, has been acclaimed for its portrait of the man behind “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Focus said two thirds of the documentary’s audience was under the age of 45.

Meanwhile, the troubled “Solo” slid to second place with $15.2 million on its third weekend. It has now grossed $176.1 million, well off its expected pace.

“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” began its international rollout in 48 overseas markets with an estimated $151.1 million, said Universal Pictures. That’s a predictably strong start for a film expected to be one of the biggest of the summer. It opens Friday in China, and on June 22 in North America.

Initial reviews, which came out this week, were mixed for J.A. Bayona’s sequel. But critics were also less thrilled with 2015’s “Jurassic World,” which grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Ocean’s 8,” $41.5 million ($12.2 million international).
2. “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” $15.2 million.
3. “Deadpool 2,” $13.7 million ($18.5 million international).
4. “Hereditary,” $13 million ($3.5 million international).
5. “Avengers: Infinity War,” $6.8 million ($10.9 million international).
6. “Adrift,” $5.1 million.
7. “Book Club,” $4.2 million.
8. “Hotel Artemis,” $3.2 million.
9. “Upgrade,” $2.2 million.
10. “Life of the Party,” $2.1 million.

Al Pacino Joins Quentin Tarantino’s Manson Movie

Quentin Tarantino’s star-studded “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” just landed another legendary actor: Al Pacino.

Pacino will play Marvin Shwarz — Leonardo DiCaprio’s character’s agent in the Sony film — marking his first collaboration with Tarantino. Dating back to his first feature film, 1992’s “Reservoir Dogs,” Tarantino has always cast movie stars he grew up watching, from Robert Forster in “Jackie Brown” to David Carradine in the “Kill Bill” films. Pacino fits that mold of A-list actors who rose to fame in the 1970s.

Also joining the cast are Damian Lewis, who will play acting icon Steve McQueen, Luke Perry as Scotty Lancer, Emile Hirsch as hairstylist Jay Sebring, Dakota Fanning as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme — a member of the Manson family — Clifton Collins as Ernesto the Mexican Vaquero, Keith Jefferson as Land Pirate Keith, and Nicholas Hammond as legendary director Sam Wanamaker.

The movie, which Tarantino is writing, directing, and producing, also stars DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Burt Reynolds, and Timothy Olyphant. David Heyman and Shannon McIntosh are producing as well.

The pic takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (DiCaprio), the former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double, Cliff Booth (Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they no longer recognize. But Dalton has a very famous next-door neighbor … Sharon Tate.

The film will be released worldwide on August 9, 2019. Opening on the 50th anniversary of the day that the Manson family committed the LaBianca murders and the day after Tate was killed, the film will face off against “Artemis Fowl,” Disney’s adaptation of the popular sci-fi and fantasy series.

Pacino is coming off rave reviews for his performance as Penn State coach Joe Paterno in HBO Films’ “Paterno,” and can be seen next in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.”

‘Ocean’s 8’ Will Run Off With Weekend #1 & ‘Hereditary’ Readies Record Debut for A24

One year ago, fueled by female audiences, Wonder Woman was lighting up the summer box office, en route to becoming the third largest domestic release of 2017. This weekend, the female-led ensemble cast of Ocean’s 8 looks to deliver some solid results of its own following a downer weekend last week. Also hitting theaters is A24’s much-talked about horror film Hereditary as well as Global Road’s Hotel Artemis. Meanwhile, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is getting its start internationally this weekend, two weeks ahead of its domestic bow.

Debuting in a healthy 4,145 theaters, Ocean’s 8 features a massive ensemble including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina and Mindy Kaling. The film fits within the Ocean’s film franchise, which began with the 2001 remake starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon and debuted with $38.1 million. That filmed spawned two sequels, the last of which hit theaters eleven years ago, which is just one of the reasons comping for this title has been a little difficult.

While some are pointing to the 2016 Ghostbusters remake as a comp title, or even 2008’s Sex and the City, a variety of factors make both films, along with the original Ocean’s features, a difficult comparison to this latest release. Looking at films over the past five years or so, we’ve used IMDb page view data to draw our attention to films such as Cinderella, Maleficent and Dwayne Johnson’s San Andreas, the latter of which played to an audience that was 51% female and 70% of the overall audience was over the age of 25.

Analysis of IMDb page view data over the two weeks leading up to release shows Ocean’s 8 pacing about 20% behind Cinderella and Maleficent and just 10% behind San Andreas. It’s also dramatically outperforming the Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy comedy The Heat, and while that film played to an older audience, of which 65% were female, its R-rating makes it a tougher comp to rely on.

Overall, Warner Bros. is anticipating a debut in the mid-thirties while tracking as of last week had the film performing within the $35-40 million range. That being said, we’re having a hard time finding reason to go that low and we’re seeing signals this one could hit $50+ million. Right now we’re going out with a $45 million forecast, but won’t be surprised to see this one pop even higher.

Looking at a second place finish is Disney and Lucasfilms’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, dropping about 47% for a weekend around $14.5 million, pushing the film’s domestic gross to $175 million as it begins its third week in release.

Third place could be a tight race between Fox’s Deadpool 2, which begins its fourth weekend in release, and A24’s Hereditary, which will be the studio’s widest release yet, debuting in nearly 3,000 locations. Deadpool 2 should drop around 44% and bring in right around $13 million as it nears $280 million domestically, but will that be enough to hold off Hereditary?

After debuting at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Hereditary has earned rave reviews including a review from The Hollywood Reporter saying it is “[a]rguable the most effective domestic horror chiller since The Conjuring and The Babadook” and Time Out called it “a new generation’s Exorcist”. That’s lofty praise and A24 is looking to take advantage, debuting the film in 2,964 theaters, the studio’s widest release yet topping It Comes at Night, which opened with $5.9 million in 2017 from 2,533 locations, the studio’s second largest opening ever. A24’s largest opening ever currently belongs to another festival darling and horror feature in The Witch, which opened in just 2,046 theaters with $8.8 million. So how does Hereditary stack up?

Fandango.com reports the film is second to just Ocean’s 8 heading into the weekend in terms of ticket sales and looking at IMDb page view data for the last two weeks, Hereditary is out-pacing both It Comes at Night and The Witch at the same point in the release cycle. In fact, it’s pacing just ahead of Oculus ($12m opening) and ahead of The Boy ($10.7m opening). All told, while we wouldn’t be at all shocked to see it slide into third place, right now we’re anticipating a fourth place finish with a strong $12 million three-day.

Rounding out the top five, look for STX’s Adrift to drop right around 45% for a $7.3 million weekend as it nears $25 million domestically.

Outside the top five we have Global Road’s Hotel Artemis, which will open in 2,340 theaters with the studio anticipating a debut in the mid-to-high single digits, which meshes well with our pre-release analysis. IMDb page view comparisons to films such as Criminal and The Last Stand all suggest debuts right around $7 million while comps to films including Collide and Bullet to the Head push expectations down closer to $5 million. Heading into the weekend our anticipated range is anywhere from $4-7 million with our current forecast targeting a $5 million debut.

Elsewhere, keep an eye on The Orchard’s American Animals which topped the weekend charts this past weekend based on per theater average with a solid $33,698 from four locations. This weekend the film expands into a total of 42 theaters and by the end of the month should be in over 400 locations nationwide.

Finally, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom began playing internationally yesterday in seven of the 48 markets it will release in this weekend before its North American release on June 22. The studio is reporting a $20.2 million opening day from Korea, France, Indonesia, Germany, Philippines, Belgium and French-speaking Switzerland including a record-breaking opening day of $9.7 million in South Korea. Previews also began in select markets on Wednesday including $2.9 million in the UK.

While the studio isn’t expecting the film to reach the heights of 2015’s Jurassic World it’s worth mentioning that film debuted in 67 markets and delivered the third largest overseas opening of all-time with $316.7 million. Other markets where Fallen Kingdom will see release this weekend include Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Thailand, India, China, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico just to name a few.

This weekend’s domestic forecast is directly below. This post will be updated on Friday morning with Thursday night preview results followed by Friday estimates on Saturday morning, and a complete weekend recap on Sunday morning.

Ocean’s 8 (4,145 theaters) – $45.0 M
Solo: A Star Wars Story (4,335 theaters) – $14.5 M
Deadpool 2 (3,823 theaters) – $13.0 M
Hereditary (2,964 theaters) – $12.0 M
Adrift (3,015 theaters) – $7.3 M
Avengers: Infinity War (2,882 theaters) – $6.0 M
Hotel Artemis (2,340 theaters) – $5.0 M
Book Club (2,802 theaters) – $4.6 M
Upgrade (1,458 theaters) – $2.5 M
Life of the Party (1,848 theaters) – $1.9 M

Solo box office plummets in second weekend, Action Point fizzles

The Millennium Falcon is hitting some turbulence on a slow post-Memorial Day weekend.

Disney and Lucasfilm’s Solo: A Star Wars Story is on track to earn about $29.3 million in ticket sales from 4,381 theaters in the U.S. and Canada during its second frame, holding on to its box office crown but dropping a steep 65 percent after an already lackluster debut.

That brings Solo’s domestic haul to an estimated $148.9 million after 10 days in theaters — which is less than the opening weekend of the previous Star Wars “anthology” movie, Rogue One ($155.1 million). Solo will add an estimated $30.3 million overseas this weekend, pushing its international total to about $115.3 million.

Marking the 10th film in the Star Wars saga and the second standalone movie, Solo explores the younger years of Han Solo and features Alden Ehrenreich in the title role. Ron Howard directed the film, which cost upward of $250 million to make, in part because he took over for original helmers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and undertook significant reshoots. Reviews have been mixed to positive, while audiences gave Solo an A-minus CinemaScore.

As the fourth Star Wars movie in less than three years and the weakest yet of the Disney era, Solo could indicate some franchise fatigue. Still, the studio has Episode IX on the calendar for Dec. 20, 2019, and is considering new movies about Boba Fett, Lando, and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Taking second place this weekend is Fox’s Deadpool 2, with an estimated $23.3 million in its third frame. The superhero sequel starring Ryan Reynolds will have grossed about $254.7 million at the domestic box office through Sunday.

The highest-grossing newcomer this weekend is STX’s survival drama Adrift, with about $11.5 million, good for third place. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur and loosely based on a true story, the film stars Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin a couple who get stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean during a hurricane.

Reviews have been mixed to positive, and moviegoers gave it a so-so B CinemaScore.

Also arriving this weekend are BH Tilt’s sci-fi thriller Upgrade, in sixth place with about $4.5 million, and Paramount’s theme park comedy Action Point, in ninth place with about $2.3 million.

The latter figure represents a hard landing for the Johnny Knoxville vehicle, which reportedly cost about $19 million to make. Film critics panned Action Point, and audiences gave it a C-plus CinemaScore.

According to ComScore, overall box office is up 6.2 percent year-to-date. Check out the June 1-3 figures below.

1. Solo: A Star Wars Story — $29.3 million
2. Deadpool 2 — $23.3 million
3. Adrift — $11.5 million
4. Avengers: Infinity War — $10.4 million
5. Book Club — $6.8 million
6. Upgrade — $4.5 million
7. Life of the Party — $3.5 million
8. Breaking In — $2.8 million
9. Action Point — $2.3 million
10. Overboard — $2 million