Box office is about to cheer up a bit for the holiday weekend as Wonder Woman 1984 [WOND2] finally opens in a cinematic landscape ravaged by the pandemic. Unfortunately, the blockbuster sequel becomes the first Warner Bros. film to open simultaneously in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. Gal Gadot [GGADO] returns with director Patty Jenkins [PJENK] on the highly-anticipated and long-awaited PG-13 rated sequel, which was first scheduled for November 2019 and then June 2020, before being delayed again and again until settling on Christmas Day. With Wonder Woman 1984 also available on HBO Max for a subscription fee of $14.99, box office expectation is drastically reduced from the $103 million debut of 2017's Wonder Woman. The studio reported advance ticket sales of nearly $5 million, half of which from patrons renting out whole screenings. Showing in approximately 2150 theaters, Wonder Woman 1984 may collect $13 million.
Meanwhile, Universal remains committed to a theatrical window, albeit a significantly shortened one, with two new wide releases. Tom Hanks [THANK] reunites with director Paul Greengrass [PGREE] for News of the World [NEWSW]. The PG-13 rated western has favorable reviews, but will its older target demographic be willing to brave theaters? News of the World could scoop up $5.5 million from 1896 theaters.
Carey Mulligan [CMULL] stars in Promising Young Woman [PRMYM] from Focus Features. The R-rated drama has received critical acclaim and award buzz. However, its target audience are in urban markets where theaters are mostly closed. Showing 1310 theaters, Promising Young Woman could tally $2 million.
With the holiday weekend, Monster Hunter [MONHT] should be able to hold 60% of its opening for a second frame at $1.3 million.
!--[if gte mso 9] Pinocchio [PNCCO] courts the family audience, but unfortunately received a PG-13 rating. Roberto Benigni also lacks starpower to attract parents. Roadside Attractions managed to book just 750 theaters, where it looks to gross around $0. 5 million. That’s the whisper from the virtual trading floor.
Tag(s): WOND2, GGADO, PJENK, THANK, PGREE, NEWSW, CMULL, PRMYM, MONHT, PNCCO
