One of the biggest animated franchise returns to theaters this weekend with Despicable Me 3 [DESME3]. The third installment finds Gru discovering his twin brother Dru and facing another villain, in a story not unlike the third Austin Powers movie. While Steve Carell [SCARE] is the voice star of Despicable Me, the real draw of the series have been the scene-stealing yellow minions. Despicable Me 2 opened with $83. 5 million in 2013, topped by The Minions spin-off in 2015 with $115.7 million. Universal is rolling Despicable Me 3 out in a record 4529 theaters, which could result in an opening around $104 million.
After a lackluster debut last week, Transformers: The Last Knight [TFRM5] could drop 55% in its second weekend to $20 million and cross $100 million.
Sony hopes to turn the tide of recent disappointments with the critical darling Baby Driver [BDRIV]. Edgar Wright [EWRIG] directed the R-rated actioner starring Ansel Elgort [AELGO] and Jamie Foxx [JFOXX]. Baby Driver took in $5.7 million on Wednesday and should add $3 million for Thursday. With excellent reviews and word of mouth, Baby Driver should get away with $18 million over the weekend from 3226 theaters.
Will Ferrell [WFERR] and Amy Poehler [APOEH] couple up for the R-rated comedy The House [THOUSE]. Warner Bros. is not screening the film for critics, which is an indication of its quality, or lack there of. Playing in 3134 theaters, The House could rake in $16 million.
On its third lap, Cars 3 [CARS3] looks to fuel up another $12 million.
Focus targets older women with Sofia Coppola’s [SCOPP] remake of The Beguiled [BGUIL]. The R-rated drama expands wide to 673 theaters after securing a PTA of $57K from 4 theaters last week. With positive reviews, The Beguiled could entice $3.5 million.
Roadside Attractions expands Beatriz at Dinner [BETRZ] wide to 683 theaters after 3 weeks of limited release that has earned $3 million. The timely drama could bring home $2 million.
That’s the whisper on the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): SCARE, TFRM5, BDRIV, EWRIG, AELGO, JFOXX, WFERR, APOEH, CARS3, SCOPP, BGUIL, BETRZ