The first major animated event movie of the year arrives this weekend in The Croods [CROOD]. DreamWorks Animation looks to bounce back after Rise of the Guardians flopped during Thanksgiving which led to layoffs and cutbacks. Nicolas Cage [NCAGE], Emma Stone [ESTON], and Ryan Reynolds [RREYN] lend their voice to the PG-rated adventures of a prehistoric family leaving their cave for the first time to explore a fantastic new land. The original story could suffer from a lack of brand awareness, but the formula of a family traveling together to exotic locales is similar to successful series like Ice Age and Madagascar. Most of the target audience is out of school on spring break. Advancing into 4046 theaters, The Croods could start up with $43 million
Gerard Butler [GBUTL] looks to save his film career as well as the President in the R-rated actioner Olympus Has Fallen [OLYHF], the first of two Die Hard in the White House movies this year. The high concept arrives at the perfect time as North Korea is the mist of rattling its saber against the U.S. in current world events. Although the CG effects look obvious, the film has gotten better than expected reviews. The strong supporting cast led by Morgan Freeman [MFREE] and Aaron Eckhart [AECKH] also help to class up the production. FilmDistrict has really amped up the marketing campaign and been rewarded with strong tracking from potential moviegoers. Landing in 3098 theaters, Olympus Has Fallen could come up with $23 million.
After ruling for two weeks, Oz: the Great and Powerful [OZTGP] has crossed the $150 million mark and looks to add another $22.5 million to its coffers.
New distributor A24 will expand its first wide release Spring Breakers [SPBRK] into 1104 theaters after averaging $87,667 on 3 screens last weekend. The R-rated drama star Vanessa Hudgens [VHUDG] and Selena Gomez [SGOME] as bikini-clad girls gone wild in Florida. Since premiering on the festival circuit last year, the film has generated a great deal of buzz for the former Disney Channel stars’ image makeover as well as for the performance of James Franco [JAFRA] as a local gangster. Spring Breakers should appeal to both the arthouse crowd as well as older female teens and earn around $9 million.
Tina Fey [TFEY] and Paul Rudd [PRUDD] pair up in the PG-13 rated dramedy Admission [ADMSN]. Unfortunately for their fans who are expecting an intelligent romantic comedy, the Focus release shifts the focus instead to her relationship with a teenage son she abandoned at birth. The story will only interest older women who don't normal rush out on opening weekend. Admission may accept only $8 million from 2100 locations.
Last weekend’s two new openers are headed for steep falls. The Call [TCALL] looks to cut off more than 50% to $8.5 million, while a similar drop would put The Incredible Burt Wonderstone [BURTW] at $5 million.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): CROOD, NCAGE, ESTON, RREYN, GBUTL, OLYHF, MFREE, AECKH, OZTGP, SPBRK, VHUDG, SGOME, JAFRA, TFEY, PRUDD, ADMSN, TCALL, BURTW