After a relatively quiet start to the year, March marks the point when the theatrical marketplace begins to pick up momentum. The month brings an eclectic mix of original swings, franchise plays, and literary adaptations as studios position early-year releases before the summer blockbuster season begins. Horror remains a particularly dominant force in the corridor, with multiple genre titles arriving within weeks of each other. Project Hail Mary has the biggest chance at burgeoning into a bona fide blockbuster.
The Bride! | Warner Bros.
March 6
Warner Bros.’ gothic romance The Bride!, written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, is a big swing that reimagines the Bride of Frankenstein myth as a 1930s Chicago-set, Bonnie-and-Clyde-style crime saga. Buckley stars as the reanimated woman opposite Christian Bale as her monstrous companion, supported by a high-profile ensemble including Penelope Cruz, Annette Bening, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Striking neo-noir, punk-gothic imagery has helped Warner Bros. continue an impressive marketing streak. Shot for IMAX, the production enters a marketplace newly reacquainted with Mary Shelley’s story following Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. While comparisons are inevitable, The Bride!’s highly stylized, romantic-crime angle should help it stand apart. Even amid mixed reviews, it’s positioned for a modest but solid theatrical run.
Hoppers | Disney/Pixar
March 6
Disney and Pixar are great at selling talking animals, but the studio has struggled to launch new IP theatrically in the post-pandemic era. Last summer’s Elio opened to a muted $20.8M—the lowest wide debut in Pixar history—and capped off its domestic run at $72.9M. Directed by Daniel Chong, Hoppers centers on a college student whose consciousness is transferred into a robotic beaver, sparking an animal uprising. An early March release breaks from the studio’s traditional summer corridor. That dating could allow for steady family holdover during spring break season if word-of-mouth is strong, but there’s major competition at the start of April with The Super Mario Bros. Galaxy Movie. With positive reviews and a high-concept hook, Hoppers has the ingredients for a sleeper success at a moment where Pixar could use an original hit.
Reminders of Him | Universal
March 13
Reminders of Him brings another bestselling novel from author Colleen Hoover to the big screen, following It Ends with Us and Regretting You. Hoover’s work has proven itself theatrically viable, with It Ends With Us opening to $50M and grossing $148.5M domestically. Regretting You launched at a more modest $13.6M and went on to $48.8M domestic. Interestingly, all of Hoover’s adaptations have been set up at different studios: Sony (It Ends With Us), Regretting You (Paramount), and now Reminders of Him at Universal—not to mention the upcoming Verity via Amazon MGM. Directed by Vanessa Caswill and co-written by Hoover and Lauren Levine, Reminders of Him tackles Hoover’s 2022 bestseller about a young mother (Maika Monroe) attempting to rebuild her life after prison. Universal’s March release follows the same off-peak strategy studios have used for previous Hoover adaptations. Female-skewing dramas have historically launched in the same corridor, suggesting Reminders of Him could establish a similar mid-tier foothold.
Project Hail Mary | Amazon MGM
March 20
Based on the bestselling novel by Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary arrives in March as a potential Q1 blockbuster. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, it stars Ryan Gosling as a scientist sent on a desperate mission to save Earth’s dying sun. The Martian, a similar Weir novel, was turned into a hit by director Ridley Scott, opening to $54.3M over a decade ago and ultimately reaching $228.4M domestically. Like The Martian, Project Hail Mary debuts during a traditionally quiet box office month but will run into PLF competition when The Super Mario Bros. Galaxy Movie arrives in April. Word-of-mouth could propel Project Hail Mary into true blockbuster territory. It’s our pick for the biggest movie of the month.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come | Searchlight
March 20
The cult favorite Ready or Not originally debuted in August 2019 to a modest $8M opening before legging out to $28.9M domestically. The sequel, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, once again stars Samara Weaving and an ensemble cast that includes Sarah Michelle Gellar, Elijah Wood, and David Cronenberg. Returning directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett—the filmmaking duo known as Radio Silence—have since become reliable horror hitmakers thanks to Scream, Scream VI, and Abigail. Written by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, the sequel expands the mythology of the original film’s deadly aristocratic rituals, picking up exactly where the first film left off. Grace MacCaullay (Weaving), the lone survivor of the Le Domas family’s murderous wedding-night game, discovers that surviving the ordeal has made her a target in a much larger contest among powerful global families.
They Will Kill You | Warner Bros.
March 27
Genre counterprogrammer They Will Kill You premieres at South by Southwest on March 17 before expanding theatrically on the 27th. Directed by Kirill Sokolov and starring Zazie Beetz, the film follows a housekeeper who takes a job in a luxury New York City high-rise only to discover the building’s wealthy residents are hiding a deadly secret. The premise looks remarkably similar to Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, which opens the week prior. Both films center on protagonists forced to defend themselves against violent, satanic elites, positioning them as competing entries within the same R-rated horror-satire space. Strong SXSW buzz could determine whether They Will Kill You breaks out from the pack.
Share this post