Weekend Forecast: 'Transcendence', 'Heaven Is for Real', 'A Haunted House 2', & 'Bears'

This Easter weekend will see the wide release of four new films: Transcendence, Heaven Is for Real (opening Wednesday), A Haunted House 2, and Bears.

Transcendence

PROS:

- Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman give the film some crucial star power.
- First-time director Wally Pfister could draw in some of the Christopher Nolan fanbase, with whom Pfister has worked as cinematographer for over a decade.
- Flixster buzz appears very healthy.

CONS:

- Depp's drawing power has taken a major hit in recent years thanks to films like The Lone Ranger and Dark Shadows.
- Sci-fi flicks have a recent history of underperforming at the box office.
- Early reviews are discouraging, as well as is the fact that Warner Bros. has placed an embargo on official publications until release day.
- Twitter and Facebook activity leave much to be desired for a film that should be generating a lot of Internet buzz.

Heaven Is for Real

PROS:

- Christian audiences have been turning out in droves for faith-based films this year (Son of God, God's Not Dead, and Noah to an extent).
- Similar to Son of God, churches have pushed pre-sales for the film ahead of Easter weekend.
- The novel from which the movie is adapted has generated strong sales over the years.
- Online buzz metrics are strong.

CONS:

- With more competition in the market, Heaven Is for Real doesn't have quite the same level of hype going into release as Son of God.
- Aside from recognizable names in Greg Kinnear and Thomas Haden Church, star power is one advantage missing from the film's arsenal.

A Haunted House 2

PROS:

- The first film opened to a decent $18.1 million last year.
- The Wayans name still carries some modest drawing power among the target audience.
- Flixster and Facebook activity are very positive, trending ahead of the first film in some respects.

CONS:

- Comedy sequels generally tend to perform below their predecessors.
- Aside from die-hard spoof fans, it's unlikely that Wayans will attract much more of a crowd.
- Twitter activity leaves something to be desired.

Bears

PROS:

- Disneynature has a positive history with their Earth Day-timed releases.
- Families looking for an alternative to Rio 2 may check this out.

CONS:

- Bears has an unfortunate lack of interest showing up in the usual metrics.
- With Earth Day landing after opening weekend, some back-loading could occur.

Check out our full weekend forecast in the table below.

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