The Lego Movie will coast to an easy second-weekend win, but the real action for us is down the board, as we’ve got four new releases to ponder. Let’s get to them!
The first remake of note, Robocop will have the advantage of Wednesday and Thursday word-of-mouth should it prove to be less than awful. And judging by the reviews coming out, it meets that mark, making it the only actioner on the board (for the dates that can convince their significant others to avoid romance). I’m putting it at a flat $27 million, though I’m skeptical that the “remake” factor helps all that much given the original was released nearly three decades ago.
About Last Night will be the go-to comedy, right? They’ve really segmented this weekend well, you’ve got your family, comedy, romance, and well, we’ll get to that last one in a sec. Our second out of three remakes has a real chance to take the “per theater” average crown this weekend, I’m sure there’s a reason it’s not getting massively wide, but it means the theaters will be full for About Last Night (due to enforced scarcity). This is the title I feel great about, so I’m going above tracking at $23.7 million.
Endless Love, on the other hand, is mostly outta Nic Sparks storytelling hour. Not that it will matter all that much, Safe Haven delivered in a similar timeslot in 2013, but my “way above tracking” $18.9 million call is due solely to Valentine’s Day falling on a Friday. They nailed that one, didn’t they? I’ll also admit to liking certain aspects of the movie, but overall it’s just too melodramatic to sustain any real momentum over the weekend.
Finally, Winter’s Tale, a film that really should be much better off given the cast (Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly). But I haven’t even seen a tracking number! As in, it’s not tracking. Gulp. To say I hate the outlook for this film would be putting it mildly. $9.8 million might even be pushing it, but that’s limbo low already, I can’t go any lower!
Now it’s your turn. I don’t even remember the last time we had four new releases, savor all the analytical goodness!
Current Record: 6-18 against the wisdom of the crowds
Major Theater Chain (MTC) Tracking
- Robocop: $28 million
- About Last Night: $22.7 million
- Endless Love: $13.4 million
- Winter’s Tale: N/A
SIDE NOTE: Some of the theater numbers below are estimates. We’ll have the actual counts in Sunday’s wrap-up article.
