After taking down three under-performing newcomers for its second straight win, Warner Bros.‘Sullytries to make it three straightbox office winsin a row this weekend. The true story drama will only face two newcomers, Sony Pictures’The Magnificent Sevenremake and Warner Bros.’ animated comedyStorks, both of which should easily unseatSully. While we think it will be close,The Magnificent Sevenshould come out on top with $24.7 million.
Box Office Mojoreports thatThe Magnificent Seven, directorAntoine Fuqua’s Western remake starringDenzel WashingtonandChris Pratt, will debut in roughly 3,600 theaters, whileStorkswill open in 3,800 theaters.The Magnificent Sevencurrently holds a 61% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, although not enough reviews are in forStorksquite yet. We’re predicting thatStorkswill debut in second place with $23.6 million, but it’s certainly possible that these two newcomers flip-flop in the top two spots this weekend.
Last weekend,Sullymanaged to win for a second weekend in a row, not only because the trio of newcomersBridget Jones’s Baby,Blair WitchandSnowdenall under-performed, but also because it suffered a minimal second-weekend drop. The biopic starringTom Hanksonly dropped an impressive 37.5% in its second weekend, playing in 3,525 theaters, which was still the widest release of any movie that weekend. Last weekend’s tally brings its domestic total to $70.1 million, with an addition $24.3 million from overseas territories for a worldwide total of $94.4 million from a $60 million budget.
DirectorAntoine Fuquabrings his modern vision to a classic story in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures' and Columbia Pictures’The Magnificent Seven. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns - Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington), Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.
Storksdeliver babies…or at least they used to. Now they deliver packages for global internet giant Cornerstore.com. Junior, the company’s top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the Baby Making Machine, producing an adorable and wholly unauthorized baby girl. Desperate to deliver this bundle of trouble before the boss gets wise, Junior and his friend Tulip, the only human on Stork Mountain, race to make their first-ever baby drop - in a wild and revealing journey that could make more than one family whole and restore the storks' true mission in the world.
TheStorksvoice cast includesAndy Samberg,Kelsey Grammer,Keegan Michael Key,Jordan Peele,Kate Crown,Jennifer Aniston,Ty Burrell,Anton Starkman,Danny Trejo,Ike BarinholtzandAmanda Lund.Nicholas Stoller, best known for live action comedies such asNeighborsand this summer’s sequelNeighbors 2: Sorority Rising, directs alongsideDoug Sweetland, from his own screenplay. This project is the first movie to debut under Warner Bros.' newly-minted Warner Animation Group. The top 5 will be rounded out bySully($12.6 million),Blair Witch($7.2 million) andBridget Jones’s Baby($5.7 million)
The top 10 will be rounded out bySnowden($4.1 million),Don’t Breathe($2.9 million),When the Bough Breaks($2.3 million),Suicide Squad($2.1 million) andKubo and the Two Strings($1.4 million). Also opening in limited release is CJ Entertainment’sThe Age of Shadows, Shout! Factory’sBeauty and the Beast, First Run’sThe Ruins of Lifta, Strand’sCloset Monster, Broad Green Pictures’The Dressmaker, Magnolia’sThe Lovers and the Despot, Under the Milky Way’sMade in France, Indican’sNew World Orderand Disney’sQueen of Katwe, which will expand into a wide release on September 30.The Queen of Katwewill debut in 52 theaters this weekend.
Looking ahead to next weekend, three newcomers will close out the month of September. Lionsgate will release their thrillerDeepwater Horizon, alongside the Relativity comedyMastermindsand 20th Century Fox’s fantasy adaptationMiss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Also opening in limited release is A24’sAmerican Honey, First Run’sAmong the Believers, Freestyle Releasing’sClinton Inc., Magnolia’sDanny Says, Bleecker Street’sDenial, Vanish Films’Do Not Resist, Starz Media’s comedyFlock of Dudes, FilmRise’sHarry & Snowman, China Lion’sI Belonged to You, FIP’sM.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Music Box Films’A Man Called Oveand Well Go USA"sOperation MeKong. Be sure to check back on Sunday for the box office estimates, and again on Tuesday for next week’s predictions. Until then, check out our projected top 10 for the weekend of September 23.
