Disney continues its domination of the box office with Ant-Man and the Wasp [ANTM2], their third Marvel movie of the year after Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War. The goodwill from those 2 blockbusters should rub off and provide a tremendous boost to the sequel to Ant-Man, which debuted with $57.2 million three years ago. Paul Rudd [PRUDD] reprises his role as the insect-sized superhero, while Evangeline Lilly [ELILL] suits up as his partner the Wasp for the first time. The buzz on the PG-13 rated sequel is another comedic crowd-pleaser. Advance ticket sales are pacing ahead of Doctor Strange, which opened at $85.1 million. Descending on 4206 theaters, Ant-Man and the Wasp could carry away $90 million.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom [JURA5] looks to tumble to $30 million in its third outing, while Incredibles 2 [NCRD2] finishes its fourth session at around $26 million.
As the title indicated, The First Purge [PURG4] is a prequel to Universal’s dystopian franchise. The R-rated series that imagined a future where the privileged upper class culled poor minorities has become even more relevant under the Trump Presidency. The three previous installments have opened to $34.1 million, $29.8 million and $31.5 million respectively. The First Purge is the first to open on a Wednesday, grossing $9.3 million on July 4th. The First Purge may claim another $25 million over the weekend from 3031 theaters.
The action sequel Sicario: Day of the Soldado [SICA2] is likely to drop more than 50% from its debut to $9 million, while the well-liked comedy Uncle Drew [UDREW] should be able to hold better than 50% for $8 million.
That’s the whisper on the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): ANTM2, PRUDD, ELILL, JURA5, NCRD2, PURG4, SICA2, UDREW