Business in the dog days of summer should pick up this weekend with the horror sequel Annabelle: Creation [ANAB2], the second spinoff film from The Conjuring franchise. The first Annabelle scored an October 2014 opening of $37.1 million. The R-rated sequel is a prequel about the making of the demonic doll. Creation has earned better reviews than the first one, which could be attributed to director David F. Sandberg, whose previous film Lights Out debuted with $21.7 million last July. However, horror fans who didn’t like Annabelle may not be back. Fandango advance sales are pacing ahead of Annabelle as well as Don’t Breathe, which opened at $26.4 million last August. Annabelle: Creation could cobble together $32 million from 3502 theaters.
The Nut Job surprised with a $19.4 million debut back in January 2014. Thus, we get the unnecessary sequel The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature [NUTJ2]. With most blockbusters underperforming this summer, the PG-rated animated film is getting 4003 theaters from Open Road, which is partly owned by AMC and Regal. The Nut Job 2 could pack in $12 million.
Dunkirk [DUNKR] is displaying staying power as it marches across $150 million with around $10 million for its fourth weekend.
Despite opening at number one, The Dark Tower [DRKTW] has already fallen third place during the weekdays. The Dark Tower could drop nearly 60% in its sophomore session to about $8 million.
Halle Berry fans didn’t mind the delay on Kidnap [KDNAP]. The thriller should hold 50% of its debut for a $5 million second weekend.
Detroit [DETRT] proved a hard sell with the mainstream audience, but could still find legs with the arthouse crowd and finish with $4 million.
Lionsgate targets women with The Glass Castle [GLASC] starring Brie Larson [BLARS]. Reviews are mixed for the PG-13 rated drama. Opening in just 1461 theaters, The Glass Castle could settle at $3.5 million.
That’s the whisper on the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): ANAB2, NUTJ2, DUNKR, DRKTW, KDNAP, DETRT, GLASC, BLARS