Can Suicide Squad Hold Off Pete's Dragon at the Box Office?

After a week that started with directorDavid Ayer’s controversial remarks and a spate of negative reviews, Warner Bros.Suicide Squadstill managed to breakbox officerecords anyway. This DC Comics adaptation took in $133.6 million in its opening weekend, slightly down from Sunday’s estimates of $135.1 million, but still good enough to shatterGuardians of the Galaxy’s August opening weekend record of $94.3 million. This weekend, DC’s supervillains take on three very different movies, Disney’s family adventurePete’s Dragon, Sony’s R-rated animated comedySausage Partyand Paramount’s inspiring dramaFlorence Foster Jenkins. Even with a massive second weekend drop,Suicide Squadshould still repeat atop the box office with $59.3 million.

When the estimates came out on Sunday,Suicide Squadjust barely secured the third-highest opening weekend this year, beatingFinding Dory’s $135 million, but the actual figure of $133.6 million made it the fourth-highest opening of the year. The debut falls below Marvel’sCaptain America: Civil War($179.1 million) and Warner Bros./DC’sBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice($166 million). Disney Pixar’sFinding Doryis still the highest-grossing domestic release this year so far, with $473.8 million, and the R-ratedDeadpoollands in the fifth highest debut spot with $132.4 million.

Unlike last weekend, all of the new releases are heading into their debuts with rave reviews.Florence Foster Jenkinsis sporting an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, followed bySausage Partywith 92% on RT andPete’s Dragonwith 86%. Last weekend’s newcomers,Suicide Squad(26%) andNine Lives(4%) were demolished by the critics before their debut in theaters, so perhaps this wave of positive reviews could lead to bigger box office totals.

Our $59.3 million prediction represents an approximate 55% drop forSuicide Squad, which is par for the course for most big-budget tentpoles. Given the negative reviews for this big screen adventure, featuring the villains who make upTask Force X, it may drop even more than that, but we don’t know for sure. Still, it should be enough to take downPete’s Dragon, which, according toBox Office Mojo, will have the highest theater count of the three new releases, opening in approximately 3,400 theaters.Sausage Partyis expected to open in over 2,800 theaters, withFlorence Foster Jenkinsopening in roughly 1,500 theaters. We’re predicting thatPete’s Dragonwill debut in second place with a solid $43.1 million, followed bySausage Partyin third place with $28.5 million,Florence Foster Jekninsin fourth place with $14.4 million and holdoverJason Bourne($11.4 million) rounding out the top 5.

Pete’s Dragonis a remake of Disney’s beloved 1977 classic that featured a hybrid of live action and animated elements. For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales…until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete’s descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham’s stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Wes Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon.

Sausage Partyis a raunchy animated movie about one sausage’s quest to discover the truth about his existence. After falling out of a shopping cart, our hero sausage and his new friends embark on a perilous journey through the supermarket to get back to their aisles before the 4th of July sale. The stellar voice cast is lead bySeth Rogen,Jonah HillandJames Franco, also featuringEdward Norton,Michael Cera,Nick Kroll,David Krumholtz,Kristen WiigandSalma Hayek.

Set in 1940s New York,Florence Foster Jenkinsis the true story of the legendary New York heiress and socialite (Meryl Streep) who obsessively pursued her dream of becoming a great singer. The voice she heard in her head was beautiful, but to everyone else it was hilariously awful. Her “husband” and manager, St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant), an aristocratic English actor, was determined to protect his beloved Florence from the truth. But when Florence decided to give a public concert at Carnegie Hall, St. Clair knew he faced his greatest challenge.

The top 10 is rounded out byBad Moms($7.2 million),The Secret Life of Pets($6.2 million),Star Trek Beyond($5.4 million),Nine Lives$3.1 million andLights Out($2.8 million). Also opening in limited release this weekend Bleecker Street’sAnthropoid, Independent’sBeyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the Fourth ReichandEdge of Winter, The Orchard’sGhost Team, GVN Releasing’sThe Fight Within, Lionsgate’sHell or High Water, Brainstorm Media’sThe Model, CJ Entertainment’sOperation Chromite, Film Movement’sMy Kingand Abramorama’sThe Girl of the Golden West. We don’t know quite yet if any of these films will be expanding in the weeks and months to come.

Looking ahead to next weekend, three more wildly different movies hit theaters as the summer movie season winds down. Warner Bros. will releaseWar Dogs, starringJonah HillandMiles Teller, while Focus Features will unveil their animated adventureKubo and the Two Stringsalongside Paramount’s epic remake ofBen-Hur. Also debuting in limited release is Independent’sKingsglaive: Final Fantasy: XV, Distrib Films’Down By LoveandThe Student and Mr. Henri, Magnolia’sLo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World, Music Box Films’Mia Madre, A24’sMorris From America, Cohen Media Group’sThe People Vs. Fritz Bauerand Strand’sSpa Night. Be sure to check back on Sunday for the box office estimates, and again on Tuesday for next week’s predictions. Until then, take a look at the predictions for the weekend of August 12.