Articles

September 10, 2014
 

Weekend Box Office Predictions SEP 12-14

Weekend #37 of 2014 is looking like $65 million for the top 12 films this weekend, down 21% from the norm for this weekend.

Opening at around 3,500 theaters Friday (above the 2,886 average theater count for opening weekends the last two years), Dolphin Tale 2 from Warner Brothers should average a mediocre $5,500 per theater for the weekend (for a $19.0 million opening three-day weekend). [The average wide-release film the past two years has had a three-day opening weekend of $5,300 per theater for a $14.5 million weekend.] Early critical sentiment is positive: 73% positive reviews so far. Dolphin Tale 2 is on track for around $75 million domestic. Overseas the film could bring in $30 million, giving it a worldwide box office target of $105 million.  This would be up slightly from the $95.4 million worldwide for Dolphin Tale (released 9.23.2011), grossing $72.3 million domestic and $23.1 million overseas.

Opening at around 2.000 theaters Friday, No Good Deed from Sony/Screen Gems should average a decent $7,900 per theater for the weekend (for a $16.0 million opening three-day weekend). No reviews yet for the film. No Good Deed is on track for around $42 million domestic. Overseas the film could be maybe $6 million, giving it a worldwide box office target of $48 million.

NEW FILMS THIS WEEKEND

September 12-14, 2014

Critics Positive ($ millions)
Opening Weekend Forecast Domestic Total Projection
Dolphin Tale 2 WB PG 73% 19.0 75
No Good Deed Sony PG13 n/a 16.0 42
Note: Although critic reviews are not related to the size of the opening weekend, they are significantly correlated with the size of the declines in the opening weeks of a movie. The Domestic Total is a very early ShowBuzzDaily projection of the total North American gross, based on the Weekend Forecasts.

 

Guardians of the Galaxy remains the top holdover, but it slips well under the $10 million mark for the weekend. 

RETURNING FILMS

September 12-14, 2014

Change vs Last Weekend ($ millions)
Weekend Forecast Showbuzz Domestic Final Proj.
Guardians of the Galaxy Dis -35% 6.8 335
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Par -42% 3.8 194
Let’s Be Cops Fox -34% 3.7 79
If I Stay WB -40% 3.4 54
The November Man Rel -38% 2.7 27
When the Game Stands Tall Sony -33% 2.3 31
The Hundred-Foot Journey Dis -27% 2.3 56
The Giver Weins -33% 2.3 44

 

Box Office Volume

For the past four years, the top 12 films this weekend have averaged $83 million total, ranking 50th of 52 weeks. Last year, this weekend’s total was $89 million (while 2012 was $69 million, 2011 was $86 million and 2010 was $87 million). This Friday-Sunday is looking like a tenuous $65 million, down 21% from the multi-year average for the comparable weekend and down 27% from the same weekend last year.

 

This Weekend Last Two Years

9.13.2013

Insidious Chapter 2 FilmDis PG13 Rose Byrne Patrick Wilson
Opening Weekend — Forecast: $25 Actual: $40
Domestic Gross — Estimate: $84 Actual: $84
International — Estimate: n/a Actual: $78

The Family Rel R Robert DeNiro Michelle Pfeiffer
Opening Weekend — Forecast: $11 Actual: $14
Domestic Gross — Estimate: $40 Actual: $37
International — Estimate: n/a Actual: $31

9.14.2012

Resident Evil: Retribution Sony R Milla Jovovich Michelle Rodriguez
Opening Weekend — Forecast: $18 Actual: $21
Domestic Gross — Estimate: $44 Actual: $42
International — Estimate: n/a Actual: $197

Finding Nemo 3D Dis G
Opening Weekend — Forecast: $20 Actual: $17
Domestic Gross — Estimate: $59 Actual: $41
International — Estimate: n/a Actual: $13

Last Ounce of Courage Picture House PG
Opening Weekend — Forecast: n/a Actual: $2
Domestic Gross — Estimate: $2 Actual: $3
International — Estimate: n/a Actual: $0

 

Check back throughout the weekend for box office updates as the actual numbers come in.



About the Author

Mitch Metcalf
MITCH METCALF has been tracking every US film release of over 500 screens (over 2300 movies and counting) since the storied weekend of May 20, 1994, when Maverick and Beverly Hills Cop 3 inspired countless aficionados to devote their lives to the art of cinema. Prior to that, he studied Politics and Economics at Princeton in order to prepare for his dream of working in television. He has been Head of West Coast Research at ABC, then moved to NBC in 2000 and became Head of Scheduling for 11 years.