Weekend Forecast: 'Lone Survivor', 'Her', & 'The Legend of Hercules'

Featured Stories - on January 08, 2014 by BoxOffice Staff

jan10.pngThis weekend sees the wide expansion of Lone Survivor and Her, alongside the release of The Legend of Hercules.

Lone Survivor

PROS:

- Mark Wahlberg has become a generally reliable draw.
- Early buzz indicates the film plays very well for audiences. Reviews and the film's platform opening back that up.
- The film is trending well on Twitter and Flixster.
- Following the success of Act of Valor and Zero Dark Thirty, military families and middle-America crowds should show up.

CONS:

- Will competition from the holiday holdovers still be too much to prevent a breakout?
- With a fairly late marketing campaign, this could possibly end up being more about the legs than a big opening.
- Are audiences getting tired of films centered around the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars?

Her

PROS:

- Spike Jonze's film has received a large amount of awards circuit buzz over the past couple of months.
- The film is doing very well in its limited release.
- The ensemble cast.

CONS:

- The subject matter may prove too esoteric for the general populous.
- Awards buzz doesn't necessarily always translate to big box office.
- Though known and respected, Joaquin Phoenix is hardly considered a box office draw.

The Legend of Hercules

PROS:

- Star Kellan Lutz could help attract some of the Twilight fanbase.
- Flixster activity is decent.

CONS:

- Lutz is still generally an unknown actor, and the male audience this aims to appeal to will more likely opt for Lone Survivor.
- Twitter activity has been very sluggish.

Check out our forecast for these and the remainder of this weekend's top 13 in the table below.

Title Release Date Distributor Opening Weekend Domestic Gross through Sunday, Jan. 12
Lone Survivor Dec 25, 2013 Universal
 $26,000,000 $26,350,000
Frozen (2013) Nov 22, 2013 Disney
 $13,500,000 $316,800,000
The Wolf of Wall Street Dec 25, 2013 Paramount
 $9,200,000 $78,700,000
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Dec 13, 2013 Warner Bros. / New Line
 $8,800,000 $243,100,000
Her (2013) Dec 18, 2013 Warner Bros.
 $8,500,000 $11,900,000
American Hustle Dec 13, 2013 Sony / Columbia
 $8,300,000 $101,100,000
The Legend Of Hercules Jan 10, 2014 Lionsgate / Summit
 $7,000,000 $7,000,000
Saving Mr. Banks Dec 13, 2013 Disney
 $5,900,000 $68,300,000
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues Dec 18, 2013 Paramount
 $5,700,000 $118,200,000
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones Jan 3, 2014 Paramount
 $5,300,000 $27,400,000
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Dec 25, 2013 Fox
 $4,900,000 $53,300,000
August: Osage County Dec 27, 2013 Weinstein Company
 $4,800,000 $5,350,000
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Nov 22, 2013 Lionsgate
 $4,300,000 $413,700,000

Phil Contrino, Daniel Garris, Alex Edghill, and Shawn Robbins contributed to this report. 

Tags: The Legend of Hercules, Her, Lone Survivor

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