After a slow January at the box office, February kicks off with four new wide releases led by The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part [LEGO2]. The original The LEGO Movie broke out with $69 million in 2014. Duplo blocks have invaded the PG-rated sequel. Chris Pratt [CPRAT] reprises the lead voice role of Emmet as well as that of a new figure who’s not unlike Chris Pratt the movie star. Reviews for The Second Part are nearly as awesome as the first film. However, the 2017 spinoffs The LEGO Batman and The LEGO Ninjago Movie opened at $53.0 million and $20.4 million respectively. The films have diluted rather than expanded the audience. Playing in 4303 theaters, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part may stack up $60 million.
What Men Want [WMENW] stars Taraji P. Henson [TPHEN] in a gender-reversed remake of 2000’s What Women Want. The R-rated romantic comedy targets the urban audience that opened Girl Trip to $31 million. Henson’s last starrer Acrimony debuted at $17.2 million. What Men Want should land somewhere in between with $23 million from 2912 locations.
Cold Pursuit [HPWDR] is the latest R-rated revenge thriller starring Liam Neeson [LNEES]. The remake of a Norwegian film has earned positive reviews. However, buzz has turned negative due to Neeson’s racist comments on the promotional circuit. Last year, The Commuter opened to $13.7 million. Cold Pursuit may gather $11 million from 2630 theaters.
Orion targets horror fans with The Prodigy [PRDGY] about an evil, possessed child. Teenage girls are normally the prime demographic, but the R-rating could limit that audience. Showing in 2530 theaters, The Prodigy could reap $8.5 million.
Glass [GLASS] looks to fall just shy of $100 million with a fourth weekend around $5 million. Miss Bala [MISSB] could hold about 55% of its debut for $3.5 million.
That’s the whisper on the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): LEGO2, CPRAT, WMENW, TPHEN, HPWDR, LNEES, PRDGY, GLASS, MISSB