Long Range Forecast: 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' and '300: Rise of an Empire'

Featured Stories - on January 10, 2014 by BoxOffice Staff

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This week, BoxOffice adds Mr. Peabody & Sherman and 300: Rise of an Empire to our Long Range Forecast. 

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

PROS:

- The ad campaign is touting director Rob Minkoff's pedigree. The fact that Minkoff helmed The Lion King will go a long way with families.
- Fox expertly turned The Croods--the first DreamWorks Animation flick they distributed--into a $590 million global hit. The studio clearly knows how to sell animated efforts. (See also the lucrative Ice Age franchise.) 
- March has been kind to animation in recent years. The Croods launched in March, and other hits such as How To Train Your Dragon and Dr. Seuss' The Lorax have also succeeded in the month.

CONS:

- Will young children even know that this is established brand? We doubt it.
- It could be hurt by two main competitors that will eat up disposable family income: Frozen is going to play well into January and The LEGO Movie should do well at the end of February. Could it be a repeat of Turbo being overshadowed by Monsters, Inc. and Despicable Me 2? 

300: Rise of an Empire

PROS:

- The ad campaign promises plenty of the stylized violence that made 300 a surprise hit.
- Fans of the original have been waiting for a sequel for a long time.

CONS:

- There have been some 300 imitators over the years and they have not fared well.
- It's been six years since the first film opened. It's tough for any brand to survive that much of a gap.
- Sony Pompeii opens on February 21 and it has a similar look/feel to Rise of an Empire. 

Check out predictions for these films and others in the table below. Notable changes include Ride Along (down), Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (down), The Nut Job (down), Devil's Due (down).

Title Release Date Distributor First Weekend of Wide Release Cumulative
300: Rise of an Empire Mar 7, 2014 Warner Bros.
 $18,000,000 $43,000,000
Mr. Peabody & Sherman Mar 7, 2014 Fox / DreamWorks Animation
 $27,000,000 $102,000,000
Welcome to Yesterday Feb 28, 2014 Paramount
 $18,000,000 $43,000,000
Non-Stop (2014) Feb 28, 2014 Universal
 $21,000,000 $62,000,000
Son of God Feb 28, 2014 Fox
 $10,000,000 $34,000,000
3 Days to Kill Feb 21, 2014 Relativity Media
 $12,000,000 $35,000,000
Pompeii Feb 21, 2014 Sony / TriStar
 $15,000,000 $36,000,000
Winter's Tale Feb 14, 2014 Warner Bros.
 $15,000,000** $31,000,000
Endless Love (2014) Feb 14, 2014 Universal
 $18,000,000** $36,000,000
About Last Night Feb 14, 2014 Sony / Screen Gems
 $28,000,000** $61,000,000
Vampire Academy Feb 14, 2014 Weinstein Company
 $13,000,000** $25,000,000
Robocop (2014) Feb 12, 2014 Sony / Columbia
 $25,000,000** $57,000,000
The Monuments Men Feb 7, 2014 Sony / Columbia
 $22,000,000 $78,000,000
The LEGO Movie Feb 7, 2014 Warner Bros.
 $41,000,000 $150,000,000
That Awkward Moment Jan 31, 2014 Focus / FilmDistrict
 $11,000,000 $28,000,000
I, Frankenstein Jan 24, 2014 Lionsgate
 $21,000,000 $52,000,000
Ride Along Jan 17, 2014 Universal
 $30,000,000** $70,000,000
The Nut Job Jan 17, 2014 Open Road
 $9,000,000** $25,000,000
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Jan 17, 2014 Paramount
 $24,000,000** $70,000,000
Devil's Due Jan 17, 2014 Fox
 $6,000,000** $11,000,000

Labor Day: $7 million/$23 million (wide release on Jan. 31)

**4-day weekend

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

 

Tags: Mr. Peabody & Sherman, 300: Rise of an Empire

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