The holiday movie season blasts off with two Hollywood heavyweights going head to head. Big Hero 6 [BHERO] and Interstellar [NTSTL] could both open above $55 million on the same weekend, which would be the second time that's been accomplishd since Monsters University and World War Z reached the milestone June of 2013.
Walt Disney launches Big Hero 6 from their Animation Studio in Burbank, which produced a little film you may have heard of last year called Frozen. The PG-rated Big Hero 6 is based on an obscure Marvel comic about a team of crime-fighters. While animated sci-fi has traditionally been a harder sell, the Disney marketing juggernaut has focused on the big white robot named Baymax. The film has wide appeal across all demographics. Advance ticket sales are ahead of Wreck-It Ralph, which debuted at $49.0 million two years ago, but no mention of Frozen, which amassed $67.4 million. Taking off in 3761 theaters, Big Hero 6 could balloon up to $60 million.
Paramount lifts off with Interstellar, the sci-fi blockbuster directed by Christopher Nolan [CNOLA]. Matthew McConaughey [MMCCO] and Anne Hathaway [AHATH] led a crew of astronauts on a deep space mission in search of a habitable planet. The PG-13 rated film has been heavily marketed as an event film to be experienced on a giant screen, much like Gravity last year. However, the higher ticket prices for 3D and IMAX could be offset by a long running time of 169 minutes. The sci-fi film has earned mixed reviews, which will not discourage Nolan fans, but could impact the general public through the weekend. Advance ticket sales are pacing ahead of Inception ($62.8 million), Gravity ($55.8 million) and Prometheus ($51.1 million). Interstellar grossed $1.4 million on Wednesday from about 250 non-digital theaters. Expanding to 3561 theaters on Friday, Interstellar could unravel $57 million over the weekend.
Despite great reviews, Nightcrawler [NTCRW] underperformed expectations. The thriller could hold 55% in its second weekend and finish third at around $6 million.
After a second weekend at number one helped by Halloween, Ouija [OUIJA] is likely to tumble 55% to $5 million.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): BHERO, NTSTL, CNOLA, MMCCO, AHATH, NTCRW, OUIJA