Long Range Forecast: 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' and '300: Rise of an Empire'
Featured Stories - on January 10, 2014 by BoxOffice Staff
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.
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