I’m, honestly, still shocked by how well It has done in theaters around the world. It’s amazing. But even though I’ve got a lot of opening weekend’s to predict this month, there is really only one movie that I want to talk about right now: Blade Runner 2049.
NORTH AMERICAN OPENING WEEKEND PREDICTIONS:
- Blade Runner 2049 – Warner Bros. – October 6th, 2017 – $55 million
- The Foreigner – STX Entertainment – October 13th, 2017 – $18 million
- Geostorm – Warner Bros. – October 20th, 2017 – $14 million
- The Snowman – Universal – October 20th, 2017 – $12 million
- Jigsaw – Lionsgate – October 27th, 2017 – $15 million
- Suburbicon – Paramount – October 27th, 2017 – $7 million
Last month, one movie opened to much more than any expert would possibly predict it to weeks before its release. If October is going to have a movie do the same thing, then I really hope Blade Runner 2049 is the movie that finds that kind of success.
It’s going to be difficult for it to find a lot of success, because whereas It is more of a crowd-pleasing popcorn horror movie, Blade Runner 2049 should be a different beast altogether (I’m seeing the movie tomorrow, so I’ll know soon). The original Blade Runner wasn’t exactly a huge success when it opened, and I’m not sure Blade Runner 2049 will be either (at least not financially) — but I’m hoping the extremely positive early reviews will get butts in seats.
MAJOR OPENING WEEKENDS – August:
- It – Warner Bros. – September 8th, 2017 – $123 million (+60)
- Kingsman: The Golden Circle – 20th Century Fox – September 22nd, 2017 – $39 million (-1)
- The LEGO Ninjago Movie – Warner Bros. – September 22nd, 2017 – $20 million (-15)
Okay, let’s just get this out of the way. What It has done in September is absolutely astounding. It is one of the biggest horror movies of all-time, as well as one of the biggest September movies of all-time. The movie is also very good, so I’m very happy that it’s making a lot of money. Now, I was $60 million off the mark with my prediction, but, here’s what is crazy about It‘s opening weekend, if it had made what I had predicted it to, then it would’ve still been a huge success.
My Kingsman: The Golden Circle prediction was, on the other hand, pretty much spot-on. This sequel is not nearly as good as the original film, but I still really enjoyed it. I do wish, however, that it had opened to more money, as I’d love to see more of these films.
Also, it really looks like the LEGO movie craze is over and done with. The terrific The LEGO Movie opened to $69 million, then The LEGO Batman Movie only opened $53 million, and, now, The LEGO Ninjago Movie only opened to a disappointing $20 million. My original prediction was already a huge step down for the LEGO movie universe, but this is just awful.
Sure, maybe its poor opening is to be blamed on the fact that nobody above the age of sixteen knows what a Ninjago is. I haven’t seen the movie, and my best guess is that it’s, like, if Power Rangers were ninjas. But then again, Batman made less than the original LEGO movie, even though Batman should be more popular than LEGOs.
THE BILLION DOLLAR CLUB:
- Beauty and the Beast — Disney — $1,263 billion
- The Fate of the Furious — Universal — $1,238 billion
- Despicable Me 3 — Universal — $1,023 billion
Box office totals as of October 4th, 2017, according to Box Office Mojo.
And there you have it, folks. Despicable Me 3 has joined the club. 2015’s Minions, the Despicable Me spin-off, is already in the billion dollar club, and Illumination Entertainment thus has two films in the club. Congratulations, Universal.
– Jeffrey Rex
I'm Jeffrey Rex 