After a couple of weeks of lackluster offerings, Hollywood returns with a tentpole-sized spectacle with the Biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings [EXODU]. Director Ridley Scott [RSCOT] revisits the previously told tale of Moses, played by Christan Bale [CBALE], and God’s deliverance of his Chosen people from the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses, played by Joel Edgerton [JEDGE]. Fox is positioning the PG-13 rated film as a CG-heavy, action adventure more akin to The Lord of the Rings than to the classic The Ten Commandments. Earlier this year, Noah opened to $43.7 million by appealing to Christians. However, Exodus: Gods and Kings has made creative choices that are unlikely to be popular with the more religious moviegoers. Despite its pedigree, the film has generated little buzz and is not even in the conversation for year-end awards. With no reports on advance ticket sales, Exodus: Gods and Kings does not appear to be tracking very well. Opening in 3503 theaters, Exodus: Gods and Kings could part away with $28 million.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 [HGAM3] looks to add another $13 million in its fourth weekend to advance its total to at least $275 million, still the lowest in the franchise.
Chris Rock toplines the R-rated comedy Top Five [FFMUS], which he also produced and directed. Premiering to overwhelming positive reviews at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival, Top Five was quickly snapped up by Paramount and schedule for a holiday release. Top Five looks to connect with African-American moviegoers with its timely take on racial issues. Rock has worked tireless to promote his baby and the long lists of co-stars from Kevin Hart [KHART] to Tracy Morgan [TMORG] should also help draw from the target urban audiences. Listing 979 theaters, Top Five could score $10 million.
Although The Pyramid [PYRMD] expands to 685 theaters in its second weekend, the horror film is still likely to drop more than 50% to around $0.5 million.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): EXODU, RSCOT, CBALE, JEDGE, HGAM3, FFMUS, KHART, TMORG, PYRMD