Friday Estimates: Magnificent was Merely Okay with $12.7 million
September 24, 2016
The Friday box office was not particularly good, as The Magnificent Seven led the way with just $12.7 million. This isn’t terrible. In fact, it is nearly the record for biggest opening day in September for a non-sequel. (Sweet Home Alabama still holds that record.) However, this is far below the nearly $20 million a lot were expecting. There are some positive signs going forward. The film’s reviews are good and it did earn an A- from CinemaScore, so that should help its legs. Likewise, Denzel Washington’s films do tend to have long legs. A $35 million opening weekend is likely on the cards and that could be enough to get to the century mark domestically. I’m not saying $100 million is likely, but I also wouldn’t bet against it.
Storks looks like it could be a money loser for Warner Bros. after earning just $5.73 million on Friday. It is a family film, so it should have better than average legs; however, its reviews are mixed and its CinemaScore is just an A-. We’ve mentioned before that Horror films tend to get a lower CinemaScores. Well, family films are the opposite and their CinemaScores tend to be inflated. Because of that, an A- is merely okay and won’t result in strong word-of-mouth. It’s aiming at a $21 million opening weekend, which is again okay for a family film that cost $70 million to make. It will need good legs domestically and to find a bigger audience internationally if it is to break even any time soon.
Sully held on a little better than expected with $4.16 million on Friday and it is on pace for just under $15 million over the weekend. It will get to $100 million domestically in a week or so.
There were a couple of limited release of note with Queen of Katwe earning $82,000 in 52 theaters on Friday and The Dressmaker earning $50,000 in 36. Both of these films are doing fine, when you take into account their large theater counts.
- The Magnificent Seven Comparisons
- Storks Comparisons
Filed under: Friday Estimates, The Magnificent Seven, Storks, Sully, The Dressmaker, Queen of Katwe, Denzel Washington