On March 10, will ‘Kong’ be king? Or will ‘The Wall’ set up a fortress around its competition? It’s a battle of two blockbusters as what looks to potentially be the highest-grossing March ever truly heats up.
Kong: Skull Island (Warner Bros.)
PROS:
- The blockbuster with an all-star ensemble cast of The Avengers‘ Tom Hiddleston, last year’s Oscar winner Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and John Goodman follows a team of explorers fighting to survive against the legendary monster King Kong. Though more of an “origin story” than a remake, 2005’s King Kong earned a stellar $218.0 million, or about $290.7 million adjusted for inflation. This installment takes place in the same universe as 2014’s Godzilla, which earned an impressive $200.6 million, in anticipation of 2020’s hybrid Godzilla vs. Kong.
CONS:
- The marketing and trailers are playing up the action and fight scenes at the expense of any emotion, unlike the 2005 version which was much more of a “story.” Not that a plethora of violence at the expense of good characters or story usually hurts Hollywood films, but in this case it could be seen as a step down. Also, the studio is taking a big risk on first-time director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, whose only previous film was 2013’s low-budget limited release The Kings of Summer. Can he deliver the goods here?
The Wall (Roadside Attractions)
PROS:
- The story of an American military sniper in a high-stakes negotiation with a terrorist from behind a flimsy brick wall stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena, the former of whom has been breaking out at the box office lately with 2014’s Godzilla and 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Director Doug Liman has helmed such commercially successful thrillers as 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow with $100.2 million, 2005’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith with $186.3 million (about $250.2 million adjusted for inflation), and 2002’s The Bourne Identity with $121.6 million (about $180.2 million adjusted for inflation).
CONS:
- The young male audience this title is aiming for will largely be lost to Kong: Skull Island and the previous weekend’s superhero holdover Logan. And some 2016’s military-themed films all did poorly at the box office: November’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk with $1.7 million despite playing in wide release, while 2016’s Whiskey Tango Foxtrot only earned $23.0 million. (Although Hacksaw Ridge did well, but that was more of a historical film than a 21st century one.) Fans of military movies are probably more likely to wait until this summer’s highly-anticipated Dunkirk directed by Christopher Nolan.
Check out the official Boxoffice Pro long range forecast in the table below.
| Title | Wide Release Date | Distributor | Opening Weekend | Cumulative |
| Kong: Skull Island | Fri, Mar 10 | Warner Bros. | $40,000,000 | $100,000,000 |
| The Wall | Fri, Mar 10 | Roadside Attractions | $7,000,000 | $25,000,000 |
| Logan | Fri, Mar 3 | Fox | $81,000,000 | $205,000,000 |
| The Shack | Fri, Mar 3 | Lionsgate | $9,500,000 | $34,000,000 |
| Leap! | Fri, Mar 3 | Weinstein Company | $6,500,000 | $20,000,000 |
| Before I Fall | Fri, Mar 3 | Focus Features | $7,000,000 | $18,000,000 |
| Rock Dog | Fri, Feb 24 | Lionsgate | $3,000,000 | $8,000,000 |
| Get Out | Fri, Feb 24 | Universal | $20,000,000 | $56,000,000 |
| The Great Wall | Fri, Feb 17 | Universal | $34,000,000* | $68,000,000 |
| Fist Fight | Fri, Feb 17 | Warner Bros. | $25,000,000* | $63,000,000 |
| A Cure For Wellness | Fri, Feb 17 | Fox | $13,500,000* | $35,000,000 |
| Patient Zero | Fri, Feb 17 | Sony / Columbia | $8,500,000* | $19,000,000 |
| Fifty Shades Darker | Fri, Feb 10 | Universal | $41,000,000 | $83,000,000 |
| The LEGO Batman Movie | Fri, Feb 10 | Warner Bros. | $56,000,000 | $210,000,000 |
| John Wick: Chapter Two | Fri, Feb 10 | Lionsgate | $20,000,000 | $45,000,000 |
| Rings | Fri, Feb 3 | Paramount | $14,000,000 | $29,000,000 |
| The Space Between Us | Fri, Feb 3 | STX Entertainment | $4,000,000 | $11,000,000 |
| Resident Evil: The Final Chapter | Fri, Jan 27 | Sony / Screen Gems | $20,000,000 | $43,000,000 |
| A Dog’s Purpose | Fri, Jan 27 | Universal | $19,500,000 | $77,000,000 |
| Gold | Fri, Jan 27 | Weinstein Company | $5,000,000 | $13,000,000 |
| xXx: The Return of Xander Gage | Fri, Jan 20 | Paramount | $23,000,000 | $55,000,000 |
| Split | Fri, Jan 20 | Universal | $22,500,000 | $59,000,000 |
| The Founder | Fri, Jan 20 | Weinstein | $6,000,000 | $19,000,000 |
| The Resurrection of Gavin Stone | Fri, Jan 20 | High Top Releasing | $1,400,000 | $3,000,000 |
*= 4-day weekend, Friday-Monday, refers to Presidents Day in February.
Shawn Robbins and Jesse Rifkin contributed to this report.
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