Disney continues to mine its animated fairy tale classics with a live-action remake of Cinderella [CINDE], perhaps the most popular princess of them all. Lily James [LJAME] slips on the iconic role, while Cate Blanchett [CBLAN] plays the evil step-mother and Helen Bonham-Carter [HBCAR] the fairy godmother. As if the PG-rated fantasy needed any more help, Disney has attached the short ‘Frozen Fever’, a continuation of the 2013 blockbuster film Frozen. Advance ticket sales are pacing ahead of last summer’s Maleficent, which opened at $69.4 million, though no comparison is made with Oz The Great and Powerful’s $79.1 million debut from March 2013. Cinderella has less male appeal than Oz, but should pick up more familes with young children as some schools out for spring break. Clocking in at 3845 theaters, Cinderella may dance away with $72 million.
Warner Bros. counters the weekend with the R-rated Run All Night [ALNIT] targeted at older men. Liam Neeson [LNEES] stars in his latest incarnation of a thinking man’s action hero as he tries to protect his son from his crime boss, played by Ed Harris [EHARR]. While Neeson’s last film Taken 3 debuted with $39.2 million, his non-sequel A Walk Among the Tombstones managed just $12.8 million. Run All Night should do better with more star power and a less grim premise. Playing in 3171 theaters, Run All Night could score $15 million.
After a weak start, Chappie [CHAPI] won’t have much staying power. Director Neil Blomkamp’s last film Elysium dropped 54% in its second weekend. A similar decline would net Chappie another $6.0 million
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel [BEMH2] will have an exceptional hold due to its senior, female target audience. A 35% slide in its second weekend would bring in around $5.5 million.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): CINDE, LJAME, CBLAN, HBCAR, ALNIT, LNEES, EHARR, CHAPI, BEMH2
