Fox looks to end Warner Bros.' five week reign at the box office with The Predator [PRED4]. The R-rated sci-fi action franchise returns with Shane Black [SBLAC] at the helm. After underwhelming trailers and test screenings, The Predator underwent reshoots to better meet fan expectations. They appear to have succeeded according to pre-release buzz. The last film in the series, Predators opened in July 2010 at $24.8 million. Descending upon 4037 theaters, The Predator may accumulate $31 million.
As with most horror films, The Nun [THNUN] looks to lose a big chunk of its opening. The Annabelle spinoffs fell 55-57% during their second weekend. With worse word of mouth, The Nun could drop 60% to $21 million.
Lionsgate targets women with the R-rated thriller A Simple Favor [ASFAV] starring Blake Lively [BLIVE] and Anna Kendrick [AKEND]. The Paul Feig [PFEIG] directed film has received favorable reviews. Showing in 3102 theaters, A Simple Favor could return $14.0 million.
White Boy Rick [WBRIC] is the second film produced by Studio 8 for Sony after Alpha. Matthew McConuaghey [MMCCO] leads the R-rated crime drama, but reviews needed to attract the adult audience are mixed. White Boy Rick may score $8 million from 2504 locations.
The femme-actioner Peppermint [PPRMN] should hold better than 50% of its debut for another $7 million.
Pure Flix has produced a spiritual sequel to 2014’s Unbroken with a completely new cast. Targeted at the Christian crowd, Unbroken: Path to Redemption [UBRK2] could deliver $3 million from 1611 theaters.
That’s the whisper on the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): PRED4, SBLAC, THNUN, ASFAV, BLIVE, AKEND, PFEIG, WBRIC, MMCCO, PPRMN, UBRK2