Based on Friday’s grosses, weekend #15 of 2014 looks like $143 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, up 28% from the four-year average for this weekend ($112 million) and on its way to record for a mid-April weekend. Rio 2 and Captain America 2 are fueling the box office, while two smaller films in the horror and Kevin Costner Sports Film genres opened very quietly.
Opening at 3,948 theaters Friday, Rio 2 from Fox grossed $12.0 million Friday, putting the animated sequel on track for a $45.0 million opening weekend (slightly above our $39.5 million ShowbuzzDaily forecast). The film is pacing toward a three-day average of $11,400 per theater for the weekend (above the $5,333 opening weekend average for all wide-release films the last two years). Critical sentiment is mediocre (49% positive overall and 45% positive with top critics). Rio 2 is headed for $153 million total domestic, up from $143.6 million domestic for Rio (released by Fox on April 15, 2011).
Opening at 2,648 theaters Friday, Oculus from Relativity grossed $4.9 million Friday and is headed for a $12.8 million opening weekend (very close to our $13.5 million forecast). The film is pacing toward a three-day average of $4,800 per theater for the weekend. Critical sentiment is fairly positive (70% positive overall and 59% positive with top critics). Oculus is headed for $37 million total domestic.
Opening at 2,781 theaters Friday, Draft Day from Lionsgate/Summit grossed $3.6 million Friday and is pacing toward a $10.8 million opening weekend (slightly below our $12.5 million forecast). The film is pacing toward a three-day average of $3,900 per theater for the weekend. Critical sentiment is slightly positive (61% positive overall and 57% positive with top critics). Draft Day is headed for $35 million total domestic.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is headed for a $42.0 million second weekend (down 56% from the opening weekend and slightly below our forecast). Adjusted domestic total forecast: $261 million.
| Weekend 15: April 11-13, 2014 | ($ millions) | |||||
| Pre-Wknd Showbuzz Forecast | Early Weekend Estimate | Actual Friday Gross | Showbuzz Domestic Final Proj. | |||
| Rio 2 | Fox | [39.5] | 45.0 | 12.0 | 153 | |
| Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Dis | [45.6] | 42.0 | 11.9 | 261 | |
| Oculus | Rel | [13.5] | 12.8 | 4.9 | 37 | |
| Draft Day | LG/Sum | [12.5] | 10.8 | 3.6 | 35 | |
| Divergent | LG/Sum | [7.1] | 7.5 | 2.4 | 142 | |
| Noah | Par | [8.4] | 7.3 | 2.0 | 102 | |
| God’s Not Dead | Free | [6.1] | 5.8 | 1.6 | 54 | |
| Grand Budapest Hotel | FoxS | [4.7] | 4.0 | 1.2 | 53 | |
| Muppets Most Wanted | Dis | [3.3] | 2.4 | .56 | 54 | |
| Mr Peabody & Sherman | Fox/DWA | [2.9] | 1.9 | .45 | 111 | |
Note: The table above summarizes an early look at the weekend. The first column is a reminder of each film’s ShowBuzzDaily Forecast for the weekend (in brackets). The second column, on which the films are sorted, displays the new weekend projection for each film, based on the Friday numbers (the third column). The final column is a preliminary estimate of the ShowbuzzDaily Domestic Total number for the film’s total run in North America. A “++” indicates the Domestic number has been upgraded; a “–” indicates a downgrade.
Total Box Office Volume
The Top 12 Films this weekend are looking like $143 million total Friday-Sunday, up 28% from the four-year average for the comparable weekend and up 31% from the same weekend last year.
| WEEKEND 15 | ($ millions) | ||
| Weekend Volume: Top 12 Films | Top Movies Opening Each Weekend (Fri-Sun only) | ||
| 2014 | $143 | Rio 2 $45.0, Oculus $12.8, Draft Day $10.8 | |
| 2013 | $109 | 42 $27.5, Scary Movie V $14.2, Place Beyond the Pines $3.9 | |
| 2012 | $107 | Three Stooges $17.0, Cabin in the Woods $14.7, Lockout $6.2 | |
| 2011 | $117 | Rio $39.2, Scream 4 $18.7, The Conspirator $3.5 | |
| 2010 | $112 | Kick-Ass $19.8, Death at a Funeral $16.2 | |
| Avg 2010-13 | $112 | ||
Check back tomorrow for more complete Weekend Studio Estimates based on Saturday’s actual box office, as well as the International Box Office report.
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