Weekend Forecast: '300: Rise of an Empire' & 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman'

Featured Stories - on March 05, 2014 by BoxOffice Staff

longrange372014.png300: Rise of an Empire and Mr. Peabody & Sherman open this weekend as March kicks off.

300: Rise of an Empire

PROS:

- The original film was a breakout blockbuster, earning more than $71 million on opening weekend and $210 million domestically.
- The franchise's Facebook page has amassed an impressive 11.4 million fans.
- Adding 3D to the mix could help boost box office grosses.

CONS:

- Without star Gerard Butler or the iconic marketing campaign of the original, will general audiences be interested?
- Initial fan reaction to the idea of a 300 sequel has never been overwhelmingly positive.
- Online tracking signs are mixed with Twitter activity lagging relative to most fanboy-friendly movies.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

PROS:

- The DreamWorks brand name still carries some significant weight with families.
- Animated films have generally been reaching or exceeding expectations for the past year. Will the trend continue?
- Those that have seen The LEGO Movie and Frozen multiple times now could be ready for a new offering. 

CONS:

- Online tracking signs have been mixed.
- The success of recent animated films is also a reason supporting the possibility of low demand on opening weekend.
- Although parents may be familiar with the property's "Rocky and Bullwinkle" origins, kids of today likely aren't.

Check out our complete weekend forecast in the table below.

Title Release Date Distributor Opening Weekend Domestic Total through Sunday, March 9
300: Rise of an Empire Mar 7, 2014 Warner Bros.
 $33,000,000 $33,000,000
Mr. Peabody & Sherman Mar 7, 2014 Fox / DreamWorks Animation
 $28,000,000 $28,000,000
Non-Stop (2014) Feb 28, 2014 Universal
 $16,000,000 $53,300,000
The LEGO Movie Feb 7, 2014 Warner Bros.
 $13,500,000 $227,900,000
Son of God Feb 28, 2014 Fox
 $13,000,000 $44,500,000
Frozen (2013) Nov 22, 2013 Disney
 $3,100,000 $393,300,000
The Monuments Men Feb 7, 2014 Sony / Columbia
 $3,000,000 $70,400,000
12 Years a Slave Oct 18, 2013 Fox Searchlight
 $2,900,000 $53,900,000
3 Days to Kill Feb 21, 2014 Relativity Media
 $2,300,000 $24,700,000
RoboCop (2014) Feb 12, 2014 Sony / Columbia
 $2,200,000 $55,000,000

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

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

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