With four new movies opening nationwide on October 23, and another expanding into a national release, it’s shaping up to be quite a unique weekend at thebox office. The new arrivals are Universal’sJem and the Holograms, starringJuliette Lewis, Lionsgate’sThe Last Witch Hunter, starringVin Diesel, Paramount’sParanormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, the final installment in the long-runningParanormal Activityfranchise, and Open Road Films’Rock the Kasbah. Universal’sSteve Jobswill also be expanding nationwide on Friday, after posting incredible grosses over the last two weeks in limited release. According to the projections fromBoxOffice.com,The Last Witch Hunteris expected to take the top spot with $18 million, which will be more than enough to unseat current box office championGoosebumps.
The Last Witch Hunteris expected to be the only new release opening in more than 3,000 theaters, withSteve Jobsarriving in an estimated 2,400 theaters,Jem and the Hologramsopening in more than 2,200 theaters andRock the Kasbaharriving in approximately 2,000 theaters, although an estimated theater count wasn’t given forParanormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension. Despite this theater count advantage,The Last Witch Hunterisn’t faring too well with the critics, posting just a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. None of the other new releases have enough reviews to warrant a TomatoMeter score just yet, so we’ll have to wait and see if it will fare better thanVin Diesel’s latest action-adventure.
The Last Witch HunterstarsVin Dieselas Kaulder, a valiant warrior who managed to slay the all-powerful Queen Witch, decimating her followers in the process. In the moments right before her death, the Queen curses Kaulder with her own immortality, forever separating him from his beloved wife and daughter in the afterlife. Today Kaulder is the only one of his kind remaining, and has spent centuries hunting down rogue witches, all the while yearning for his long-lost loved ones. However, unbeknownst to Kaulder, the Queen Witch is resurrected and seeks revenge on her killer causing an epic battle that will determine the survival of the human race. The supporting cast is rounded out byRose Leslie,Elijah Wood,Ólafur Darri Ólafssonand Rena Owen.
While it’s difficult to predict how a film will fare during a nationwide expansion, we’re predicting thatSteve Jobswill take second place this weekend with an estimated $13 million. The biopic starringMichael Fassbenderas the title character and Apple co-founder, has been setting the box office on fire in limited release, earning a phenomenal $521,522 from just four theaters two weeks ago, with an astounding $130,381 per-screen average. It’s mini-expansion proved fruitful as well, with a $25,833 per-screen average from 59 theaters. The film has been showered with praise from the nation’s critics, some calling it the best movie of the year, with an impressive 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s unlikely thatSteve Jobswill be the top movie at the box office throughout its theatrical run, but with such a strong, positive buzz swirling around it, it should fare quite well, especially considering that it was produced on a $30 million budget.
Goosebumpswill likely drop to third place with $12.2 million, whileParanormal Activity: The Ghost Dimensionis expected to debut in fourth place with an opening weekend total of $11 million. The story follows two young parents trying to protect their daughter from an evil entity, by using a special camera that can see spirits. This will be the last installment of Paramount’s lucrative micro-budget franchise, which started in 2009 withParanormal Activity. If this prediction is accurate, it will mark the lowest opening weekend in the franchise, not counting the originalParanormal Activity, since it opened in just 12 theaters. The franchise’s latest offering,Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, opened with $18.3 million last January, but it ended up with a paltry domestic total of just $32.4 million.The Martianwill likely drop to fifth place this weekend with $10.9 million.
The top 10 will be rounded out byBridge of Spies($7.6 million),Rock the Kasbah($6.5 million),Crimson Peak($6.1 million),Hotel Transylvania 2($5.4 million) andJem and the Holograms($4 million). It isn’t often that you see two new releases bringing up the rear in the top 10, but it’s equally rare to see four movies opening in wide release, along with another nationwide expansion.Rock the Kasbahfeatures an all-star cast includingBill Murray,Bruce Willis,Zooey Deschanel,Kate HudsonandDanny McBride, whileJem and the HologramsfeaturesMolly RingwaldandJuliette Lewis, along with rising starsStefanie Scott,Ryan Guzman, Hayley Kiyoko,Aubrey Peeples, Aurora Perrineau andNicholas Braun. The weekend was initially set to be even more crowded, with The Weinstein Company’sBurntinitially slated to open wide on October 23, but the studio recently changed their plans, opting for a limited release this weekend and a nationwide expansion on October 30. It could very well pay off, since next weekend is far less crowded.
Along withBurnt, opening in limited release this weekend is Attack on Titan: Part 2, Difret, Extraordinary Tales, Heart of a Dog,Suffragette,I Smile Backand Nasty Baby. BothBurntandSuffragetteare slated to open in just four theaters, but it isn’t known if there is a national expansion being planned forSuffragetteat this time. It remains to be seen if any of these platform releases can have the same type of success as the much-publicizedSteve Jobs.
Looking ahead to next weekend, Warner Bros.‘Our Brand Is Crisisand Paramount’sScouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypseopen in wide release, along with the expandingBurnt. Arriving in limited release are The Armor of Light, Carter High,Freaks of Nature, Heneral Luna,Love, Sex, Death and Bowling and The Wonders. Be sure to check back on Sunday for the official box office estimates, and again on Tuesday for next weekend’s predictions. Until then take a look at our projected top 10 for the weekend of October 23.
