With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, multiplexes will be ghost towns as parents take their kids trick-or-treating while everyone else parties the night away. The new releases are unlikely to generate much business leaving the battle for number one to two holdovers. The Martian [MARTN.BW] edged Goosebumps [GBUMP] last week by only $200 thousand. While The Martian adds IMAX screens this weekend, Goosebumps has the advantage of being Halloween themed. Look for another dead heat at around $8 million for both.
The Weinstein Co. targets older women with the chef drama Burnt [ADAMJ] starring Bradley Cooper [BCOOP]. The studio has shown little faith in the R-rated film by the scheduling as well as a late marketing campaign. Opening at 3003 locations, Burnt may cook up $6 million.
Similarly, Warner Bros. targets older women with the political comedy Our Brand of Crisis [OBCRS] starring Sandra Bullock [SBULL]. The studio has also shown little faith in the R-rated film by the scheduling as well as a late marketing campaign. Polling at 2202 theaters, Our Brand of Crisis may tally $5 million.
After dumping off Paranormal Activity last weekend, Paramount dusts off Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse [SVSZ] as the second film in their new business plan to shorten the theatrical window and share its VOD revenue. The R-rated comedy may entice older teens to fork over $4 million from 1509 locations.
The best of last weekend’s openers, The Last Witch Hunter [TLWH] is likely to tumble 60% in its second weekend to $3.5 million.
After two weeks of limited release, Truth [TRUTD] expands wide into 1110 theaters. The drama about Rather-gate has earned good reviews, but also stirred up controversy about its truthiness. Truth may uncover $3 million.
That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): GBUMP, ADAMJ, BCOOP, OBCRS, SBULL, SVSZ, TLWH, TRUTD