ANNOUNCEMENT: Trade TVStocks of the upcoming 2013-14 season on our Television Stock Exchange!

SPIN FACTOR® - The HSX Blog



Whisper Numbers: Captain America targets Harry Potter



Paramount releases its second Marvel superhero film this summer with Captain America: The First Avenger [CAPAM] starring Chris Evans [CEVAN], who previously put on the spandex as The Human Torch in the Fantastic Four series. While that’s a distant memory for moviegoers, this summer’s three previous superhero films, Thor, X-Men: First Class and Green Lantern, are still fresh on their minds. That could lead to some attrition from the broader general audience. The PG-13 rated film also got a late start on the marketing front relative to its brethrens. However, comic fans will still turn out for what is the final lead-up to next summer’s The Avengers [AVNGR]. Early reviews are excellent, which could bring out older males that enjoy an old-fashioned action adventure set during World War II. Thor’s $65.7 million opening during a less competitive slot may be out of reach, but the poorly received Green Lantern’s $53.2 million should be attainable. In a close battle with Harry Potter for first place, Captain America could knock out $59 million from 3715 locations.

With its fanbase saturating the box office, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 [HPOT8] set the new record for biggest opening weekend ever. The higher debut however means the final film will be headed for a harder fall the second time around. Previous Potter films have dropped more than 60% during their second weekend. Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is expected to tumble even further, perhaps even more than 65%, which would result in roughly $56 million.

Justin Timberlake [JTIMB] and Mila Kunis [MKUNI] topline Sony’s Friends with Benefits [FWBFT], the second R-rated romantic comedy this year about a couple having sex with No Strings Attached. That Ashton Kutcher [AKUTC] and Natalie Portman [NPORT] film debuted at $19.7 million in January. With a summer release date, Friends with Benefits should get a boost from a bigger movie-going crowd. In addition, the appealing Timberlake and Kunis have both been promoting tirelessly, which should overcome the similarities between the two films. Friends with Benefits could even rub off the success of the 4-week-old Bad Teacher also starring Timberlake. Opening in 2926 theaters, Friends with Benefits may gross $25 million.

With new competition from Captain America on top of Harry Potter, Transformers: Dark of the Moon [TFRM3] is poised to drop about 50% to $11 million in its fourth frame.

That’s the whisper from the trading floor.



Tag(s): CAPAM, CEVAN, AVNGR, HPOT8, JTIMB, MKUNI, FWBFT, AKUTC, NPORT, TFRM3

View more Blog posts »



By Box Office Whisperer on Thursday, July 21, 2011 @ 04:10 PM        2308 views


Recent Comments

    No recent comments.


@HSXMOVIES on Twitter





    Follow HSX on Twitter!

    Alan Cumming (ACUMM) 20000 43.25 (+0.26)         Alan Cumming (ACUMM) 20000 43.25 (+0.26)         Abbie Cornish (ACORN) 20000 24.11 (+0.24)         Abbie Cornish (ACORN) 20000 24.11 (+0.24)         Asa Butterfield (ABUTT) 20000 56.46 (-0.13)         Asa Butterfield (ABUTT) 20000 56.46 (-0.13)         The Conjuring 2 (CNJU2) 100000 51.08 (+1.08)         Grudge Match (GRDGM) 100000 31.62 (+2.18)         Haute Cuisine (HTCUS) 100000 0.11 (+0.01)         Adrien Brody (ABROD) 20000 9.15 (+0.12)         Alexis Bledel (ABLED) 20000 10.35 (-0.09)         Salinger (SLNGR) 100000 3.46 (-0.16)         As I Lay Dying (AILDY) 100000 0.92 (-0.43)         The Conjuring 2 (CNJU2) 10 51.08 (+1.08)         Friday the 13th Part 2 (FRI12) 100000 4.53 (+0.16)         Labor Day (LABRD) 1000 13.65 (-0.05)         Runner Runner (RUNER) 50000 50.18 (+0.08)         The Conjuring 2 (CNJU2) 63652 51.08 (+1.08)         Battle of the Year (BATYR) 100000 27.04 (-1.27)         Battle of the Year (BATYR) 100000 27.04 (-1.27)         American Assassin (AMASN) 1000 9.56 (-0.02)         The Conjuring 2 (CNJU2) 100000 51.08 (+1.08)         Rush (RUSH) 50000 40.26 (-0.19)         Magic Mike 2 (MGCM2) 100000 30.99 (-0.43)         Hercules (HERCL) 1000 77.06 (-0.38)         The Conjuring 2 (CNJU2) 100000 51.08 (+1.08)         Uptown Saturday Night (USATN) 20000 14.55 (-0.04)         Spawn reboot (SPWN2) 100000 5.79 (-0.10)         Prisoners H$15 Call (PRSNS.CA) 20000 2.69 (+0.05)         The World's End (WSEND) 100000 22.10 (-0.28)         The Mummy (MUMY4) 11591 31.49 (-1.64)         Prisoners (PRSNS) 1000 39.39 (-0.34)         The Conjuring 2 (CNJU2) 36348 51.08 (+1.08)         Paddington (PADTN) 100000 25.63 (-0.58)         Goosebumps (GBUMP) 100000 18.37 (+0.62)         Black Panther (BPNTH) 99995 18.13 (-0.18)         Jack Nicholson (JNICH) 122 74.21 (+0.40)         A Friggin’ Christmas Miracle (AFCHM) 6988 5.52 (+0.06)         Walking with Dinosaurs (WDINO) 100000 33.39 (+0.86)         Three Days to Kill (3DTKL) 100000 18.72 (-0.17)         ABC: Lucky 7 (LUCKY7) 500 12.29 (-0.11)         Monsterpocalypse (MCLPS) 15989 1.70 (+0.07)         Runner Runner (RUNER) 1000 50.18 (+0.08)         Riddick (RIDC2) 1 40.64 (+2.25)         Riddick (RIDC2) 50000 40.64 (+2.25)         The Conjuring 2 (CNJU2) 30847 51.08 (+1.08)         Chef (CHEF) 321 7.83 (+0.08)         NBC: The Michael J. Fox Show (MJFOXS) 500 18.63 (+0.01)         The Conjuring 2 (CNJU2) 100000 51.08 (+1.08)         The Ultimate Life (ULGF2) 4000 2.81 (-0.08)