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November 9, 2014
 

Weekend Studio Estimates 11.7-9.2014

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Written by: Mitch Metcalf
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Based on Friday’s and Saturday’s grosses, weekend #45 of 2014 now looks like $149 million for the top 12 films Friday-Sunday, still up 7% the norm for this weekend ($140 million) but lower than it appeared yesterday ($154 million) and now down -7% from the same weekend last year.

Opening at 3,761 theaters, Big Hero 6 from Disney grossed $15.8 million Friday and $24.1 million Saturday, now on track for a $56.2 million opening three-day weekend (a hair below our $57.5 million ShowbuzzDaily forecast). The film is pacing toward $14,900 per theater for the weekend (compared to the $5,333 opening weekend average for all wide-release films the last two years). Critical sentiment is very positive (91% positive overall and 89% positive with top critics) and should help keep this film humming in future weeks. Big Hero 6 is headed for $193 million total domestic.

Opening at 3,561 theaters, Interstellar from Paramount grossed $17.0 million Friday and $18.4 million Saturday, now on track for a $50.0 million opening three-day weekend (well below our $64.5 million forecast and very possibly drifting down to $49.2 or $49.5 million when the official weekend numbers are released Monday). The film is pacing toward a similar $14,000 per theater for the weekend. Critical sentiment is positive but bordering on polite (72% positive overall and 70% positive with top critics). Interstellar is headed for $145 million total domestic.

Gone Girl is headed for $6.1 million this weekend (down 28% from last weekend and near our $5.8 million forecast). The total domestic outlook for Gone Girl has been adjusted to $166 million.

Ouija is headed for $6.0 million this weekend (down 44% from last weekend but above our $5.1 million forecast). The total domestic outlook for Ouija has been adjusted to $55 million.

St. Vincent is headed for $5.7 million this weekend (down 21% from last weekend and somewhat above our $5.1 million forecast). The total domestic outlook for St. Vincent has been adjusted to $43 million.

Fury is headed for $5.5 million this weekend (down 38% from last weekend and near our $5.2 million forecast). The total domestic outlook for Fury has been adjusted to $84 million.

Nightcrawler is headed for $5.5 million this weekend (down 47% from last weekend and slightly below our $5.8 million forecast). The total domestic outlook for Nightcrawler has been adjusted to $37 million.

Weekend 45: November 7-9, 2014 ($ millions)
Pre-Wknd Showbuzz Forecast Early Weekend Estimate Weekend Studio Estimate Actual Fri-Sat Gross Showbuzz Domestic Final Proj.
Big Hero 6 Dis [57.5] 57.5 56.2 15.8–24.1 193
Interstellar Par [64.5] 54.0 50.0 17.0–18.4 145
Gone Girl Fox [5.8] 6.0 6.1 1.9–2.8 166
Ouija Uni [5.1] 5.8 6.0 1.9–2.7 55
St. Vincent Weins [5.1] 5.6 5.7 1.6–2.5 43
Fury Sony [5.2] 5.5 5.5 1.7–2.5 84
Nightcrawler OpenRoad [5.8] 5.4 5.5 1.7–2.3 37
John Wick LG/Sum [4.1] 4.1 4.1 1.2–1.8 48
Alexander and the Terrible… Dis [3.9] 3.4 3.5 .92–1.6 69
The Book of Life Fox [4.2] 2.8 2.8 .66–1.2 53

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 now looking like $149 million total Friday-Sunday, up 7% from the four-year average for the comparable weekend but down 7% from the same weekend last year.

WEEKEND 45 ($ millions)
Weekend Volume: Top 12 Films Top Movies Opening Each Weekend (Fri-Sun only)
2014 $149 Big Hero 6 $56.2, Interstellar $50.0
2013 $160 Thor: The Dark World $85.7, About Time $4.8
2012 $163 Skyfall $88.4
2011 $126 Immortals $32.2, Jack and Jill $25.0, J. Edgar $11.2
2010 $112 Megamind $46.0, Due Date $32.7, For Colored Girls $19.5
Avg 2010-13 $140

Check back later today for the Worldwide Studio Scorecard and the International Box Office report.



About the Author

Mitch Metcalf
MITCH METCALF has been tracking every US film release of over 500 screens (over 2300 movies and counting) since the storied weekend of May 20, 1994, when Maverick and Beverly Hills Cop 3 inspired countless aficionados to devote their lives to the art of cinema. Prior to that, he studied Politics and Economics at Princeton in order to prepare for his dream of working in television. He has been Head of West Coast Research at ABC, then moved to NBC in 2000 and became Head of Scheduling for 11 years.