This week’s Long Range Forecast sees the addition of three films scheduled for wide release on Friday, August 11.
Annabelle: Creation
Warner Bros. / New Line
PROS:
- The first Conjuring spin-off was a solid hit in October 2014, earning over $84 million domestically.
- Since then, The Conjuring 2 further buoyed the franchise’s popularity with a $102.5 million domestic run last summer.
- August’s (seeming) lack of standout blockbuster offerings could work to this film’s advantage, especially considering the lack of horror hits so far in 2017.
CONS:
- Initial buzz is relatively quiet right now, although that’s not unheard of in the horror genre this far from release.
- Recent and past horror franchises have shown how vulnerable they are to diminishing returns as sequels are churned out at a quick rate.
The Glass Castle
Lionsgate
PROS:
- Based on Jeannette Walls’ best-selling memoir, there’s an existing audience of fans to cull from.
- Brie Larson’s rising star in the wake of her Oscar win last year — plus Woody Harrelson’s resurgence in high profile films — further aid appeal to adult audiences.
CONS:
- It’s often very difficult for adult dramas to break out during this time of year as summer vacations come to an end.
- Lionsgate could easily opt to release this in a more limited fashion, which make wide release forecasts volatile for the time being.
The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature
Open Road Films
PROS:
- 2014’s first film was a surprise success, earning $64 million domestically with its winter release date.
- As the last animated film scheduled to open before September 22’s LEGO Ninjago Movie, families with young children could drive staying power.
CONS:
- This is the fifth major animated title to open within a two-month span. The family market will be well-satiated by this point, especially just two weeks out from The Emoji Movie and heading back into school season.
- Although the first film was a financial winner for Open Road, its run didn’t suggest breakout demand for a sequel.
This Week’s Changes & Other Notes
- Opening weekend expectations for Transformers: The Last Knight continue to ease, largely due to the shift to a Wednesday release. (Note: Previous charts in this column incorrectly listed $70 million as the three-day forecast. That has been corrected.)
- Baby Driver and Despicable Me 3 continue to look like standout options going into 4th of July weekend. The former of the two is increasingly becoming a candidate for breakout status.
- The House isn’t tracking as strongly as once projected, with social media buzz particularly soft so far.
- Spider-Man: Homecoming tracking is generating a wide range of projections (as usual). While social media buzz remains very strong thus far, we’re not ruling out the possibility that Wonder Woman‘s incredible reception could have an indirect effect on enthusiasm for the next big superhero release. Still, pending strong reactions from early screenings, we expect big returns.
- Wish Upon continues to give us pause as its social media trends trail those of previous summer horror sleepers.
Check out our eight-week wide release forecast in the table below.
| Release Date | Title | 3-Day Wide Opening | % Chg from Last Week | Domestic Total | % Chg from Last Week | Location Count | Distributor |
| 6/21/2017 | Transformers: The Last Knight | $50,000,000 (FSS) | $180,000,000 | -4% | 3,900 | Paramount | |
| 6/28/2017 | Baby Driver | $15,000,000 | $82,500,000 | 38% | 3,000 | Sony / TriStar | |
| 6/30/2017 | Despicable Me 3 | $86,000,000 | 15% | $280,000,000 | 4% | 4,200 | Universal / Illumination |
| 6/30/2017 | The House (2017) | $23,000,000 | -12% | $80,000,000 | -16% | 3,200 | Warner Bros. / New Line |
| 7/7/2017 | Spider-Man: Homecoming | $125,000,000 | -7% | $301,000,000 | -7% | Sony / Columbia | |
| 7/14/2017 | War for the Planet of the Apes | $54,000,000 | $150,000,000 | Fox | |||
| 7/14/2017 | Wish Upon | $10,000,000 | -9% | $23,000,000 | -10% | Broad Green Pictures | |
| 7/21/2017 | Dunkirk | $60,000,000 | $240,000,000 | Warner Bros. | |||
| 7/21/2017 | Girls Trip | $17,000,000 | $60,000,000 | Universal | |||
| 7/21/2017 | Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | $24,000,000 | $70,000,000 | STX Entertainment | |||
| 7/28/2017 | Atomic Blonde | $27,500,000 | $82,500,000 | Focus Features | |||
| 7/28/2017 | The Emoji Movie: Express Yourself | $27,000,000 | $95,000,000 | Sony / Columbia | |||
| 8/4/2017 | The Dark Tower | $42,000,000 | $107,000,000 | Sony / Columbia | |||
| 8/4/2017 | Detroit | n/a | n/a | Annapurna Pictures | |||
| 8/4/2017 | An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power | n/a | n/a | Paramount | |||
| 8/4/2017 | Kidnap | $5,000,000 | NEW | $12,000,000 | NEW | Aviron | |
| 8/11/2017 | Annabelle: Creation | $23,000,000 | NEW | $52,000,000 | NEW | Warner Bros. / New Line | |
| 8/11/2017 | The Glass Castle | $3,500,000 | NEW | $10,500,000 | NEW | Lionsgate | |
| 8/11/2017 | The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature | $12,000,000 | NEW | $40,000,000 | NEW | Open Road |
Shawn Robbins and Alex Edghill contributed to this report.
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