The box office battle between Den of Thieves 2 and Mufasa will be tight on a pretty slow weekend.
After a strong holiday season, the box office seems set to slow down this weekend, with the only new release being Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, starring Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. The original film opened with a better-than-expected $15 million on its way to a $44 million domestic total. Pantera isn’t expected to open quite as well, and I’m predicting it will open in line with Butler’s own Plane, which made just over $10 million almost exactly two years ago (although that was the more lucrative MLK Jr weekend – which doesn’t happen this year until next week).
I’d expect Den of Thieves 2: Pantera to make about $12 million, and come in just behind Mufasa: The Lion King, which should make about $15 million. Number three will likely go to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which will make about $10 million.
The other big new release this weekend is Better Man, the Robbie Williams biopic which recasts the singer with a CGI Chimpanzee. Truth be told, I absolutely loved this movie (read my review), but the box office outlook isn’t good. Better Man opened in limited release over the holidays, and its per-screen average has been poor, with it only making $26k on six screens last weekend. The fact is, in North America, Williams just doesn’t have a big following, and the unusual way it’s filmed might turn off more viewers than it will attract.
As such, expect the top five to be rounded out by two holdovers – Nosferatu and Moana 2. Otherwise, I wouldn’t expect too much from the weekend box office, especially given the horrific wildfires in Los Angeles, so this will be a largely uneventful, quiet weekend before The Wolf Man sweeps in for next weekend’s MLK Day.
Here are our predictions:
- Mufasa: The Lion King: $15 million
- Den of Thieves 2: Pantera: $12 million
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3: $10 million
- Nosferatu: $8 million
- Moana 2: $7 million
What are you seeing this weekend? Will you be adding to the box office of Mufasa, Den of Thieves 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Nosferatu, Moana 2, or Better Man?