After the record-breaking success Disney had bringing together the biggest Marvel superheroes with the Avengers, Warner Bros. looks to do with same with its DC Comic icons. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice [SUPE2] finally unites the Caped Crusader and the Man of Steel in the same live-action motion picture. Rather than producing a stand-alone sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel with just Henry Cavill [HCAVI] as Clark Kent, director Zach Snyder [ZSNYD] and company have expanded the universe to include Bruce Wayne, played by Ben Affleck [BAFFL] and Diane Prince/Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot [GGADO]. The PG-13 rated film finds Lex Luthor, played by Jesse Eisenberg [JEISE], manipulating Batman and Superman into the highly anticipated showdown. However, marketing has given away the resolution of that fight by revealing a mutual adversary in Doomsday.
Man of Steel grossed $127.8 million in its first 3+ days. Furious 7 set the record for Easter weekend with $147.2 million last year, while 2012's The Hunger Games holds the March opening weekend record at $152.5 million. Both marks are likely to fall as advance tickets sales are pacing ahead of The Dark Knight Rises ($160.9 million) and The Avengers: Age of Ultron ($191.3 million). However, Batman v Superman is earning far more negative reviews than those two summer releases. Fanboys will still be out in force before the mixed word of mouth spreads. Fighting in 4242 theaters, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice could make $165 million.
Zootopia [ZOOTP] continues to steamroll through spring break. The holiday weekend should help Zootopia find another $25 million.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 [MBFG2] arrives 14 years after the original film became the biggest sleeper hit ever, playing a whole year without ever finishing number one and banking $241 million. Nia Vardalos [NVARD] brings the family back together, but too much time has passed. The PG-13 rated sequel will only interest older women. Universal opens Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 wide in 3132 theaters and could hope for about $14 million.
The Divergent Series: Allegiant [DVRG3] lost nearly half of its fanbase from the first two films. Divergent dropped 53% in its second weekend while Insurgent tumbled 58%. Splitting the difference at 55%, Allegiant would settle at $13 million.
Miracles from Heaven [MFHVN] appears to be holding better day to day than Heaven is for Real. The Easter holiday could help boost the second weekend of Miracles from Heaven to around $9 million.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): SUPE2, HCAVI, ZSNYD, BAFFL, GGADO, JEISE, ZOOTP, MBFG2, NVARD, DVRG3, MFHVN