Box Office Predictions: Minions To Dominate The Holiday Box Office

The holiday weekend is here and it’s bound to be a big one for the box office. We’ve got three new films hitting theaters and all have the potential to post some big numbers.

“Despicable Me 2” should have no trouble surpassing the first film’s $56.4 million start. It already locked an impressive $34.3 million for its Wednesday opening. Even if that number dips a bit as the days progress, it’s still looking at about $75 million for the three-day weekend and possibly $130 million total for the full holiday.

“The Lone Ranger” will take in a nice chunk of cash as well – it’s already got close to $10 million in the bank for Wednesday alone – but there’s just no chance it’ll justify that enormous $215 million production budget. Even if “The Long Ranger” manages to take roughly $10 million per day through the weekend, that’ll only give it $30 million for three days and $50 million for five and unfortunately after that, the film is bound to see a swift decline.

“Monsters University” will take a hefty hit courtesy of those little yellow minions, but Mike and Sulley could hold strong thanks to the holiday. If it takes another 44.7% hit, it’ll pull in another $25 million for the weekend and then add on another $10 million for a five-day total of about $35 million. With “Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain” only hitting 876 theaters, “The Heat” should be in a prime position to lead the comedy market yet again. Should it dip just 35%, that’ll give it $25 million for three days and just over $30 million for five.

“World War Z” is enjoying a solid run and should continue to do so through the holiday. Should that 55.2% weekend one to two loss come down to about 45%, it’ll post $16 million for the regular weekend and possibly reach $24 million for the full holiday. Even though “White House Down” got off to a disappointing start, it could hold strong moving into weekend two with all the national pride in the air. If it takes a 40% hit, that’ll leave it with $14 million for three days and then $19 million for five.

Now this is where “Let Me Explain” might actually manage to sneak in. Kevin Hart pulled in a very impressive $4.7 million on Wednesday alone, so should it come close to duplicating that intake for Thursday and then take roughly $3 million for the next three days, it could wind up with a grand total of $16 million for the holiday.

“Man of Steel” managed to level off after that whopping 64.6% weekend one to two hit and could wind repeating it’s 49.8% weekend two to three percent change. Should that pan out, that’ll leave it with $10 million for the regular weekend and about $15 million for the holiday. At this point, “This is the End” isn’t earning enough to endure any big dips, so should it maintain that 34.5% loss, it’ll take the #9 spot with a $5 million weekend and $8 million holiday. Lastly, “Now You See Me” is bound to find itself in a similar position. It’s been posting minimal declines from the start of its run and there’s absolutely no reason to think that might change. If it drops 30% moving into its sixth weekend out, it’ll claim $4 million for three days and $6 million for five.

Shockya.com Predictions

10. Now You See Me

By Perri Nemiroff (via Box Office Mojo)