The Boxoffice Podium
Forecasting the Top 3 Movies at the Domestic Box Office | March 6 – 8, 2026
Week 10 | March 6 – 8, 2026
1. Hoppers
Pixar | NEW
Opening Weekend Range: $40M – $50M
Showtime Marketshare: 23%
Pros
- The last March theatrical bow for a Pixar film was the ill-timed Onward ($39.1M opening/$61.55M total), which had the misfortune to debut just as the COVID 19 pandemic hit fever pitch. Still, the animation powerhouse is taking another swing at the late-winter corridor with Hoppers, an original about a girl who projects her mind into a robotic beaver in order to communicate with wildlife. Reviews are stellar with 97% from 90 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which -if that holds- would put it in the upper echelon of Pixar movies in terms of critical appraisal (Coco and The Incredibles both received 97%).
Cons
- When evaluating the performance of Pixar at the box office, there’s no question their sequels tend to play best, including their Top 5 opening weekends (Incredibles 2, Inside Out 2, Finding Dory, Toy Story 4 & 3) all debuting over $100M. Hoppers is not that type of proposition, looking to open somewhere between a lower-yielding original like Ratatouille ($47M) and The Good Dinosaur ($39.15M). This will be an interesting post-pandemic experiment to see if Q1 is a viable avenue for non-sequel Pixar, especially after Elio crashed last summer with a disastrous $20.8M debut… except Hoppers‘ has actual good word-of-mouth and three full weeks to dominate the family sphere until Super Mario Galaxy squashes everything like a mushroom.
2. Scream 7
Paramount Pictures | Week 2
Weekend Range: $25M – $33M
Showtime Marketshare: 15%
Pros
- Paramount went the nostalgia route, bringing back Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott to once again headline the meta-horror franchise, resulting in Scream 7‘s phenomenal $63.6M debut (half a mil under Sunday estimates). Even with legacy players, this one came in at a conservative budget estimated below $50M, so this is exactly the kind of Q1 hit both theaters and the studio need to keep the coffers filled. We fully expect this to topple Scream VI‘s $108.39M domestic total for franchise supremacy.
Cons
- Although it got off to a series-best bow, Scream 7‘s 31% RT score is the worst in the franchise’s history, and the “B-” CinemaScore is nothing to write home about. Word of mouth could derail this one significantly, although it’s coming from such a power position, it may not matter. The prior two Scream installments dropped 61% and 59%, respectively, in Week 2. We’re betting this one lands around the same level.
- The Bride! could also siphon off some of the horror crowd for Scream‘s sophomore frame, although the films are so night-and-day different they are unlikely to cannibalize each other too much. Filmmaking collective Radio Silence, who made the previous two Scream installments, are returning with Ready or Not 2: Here I Come on March 20, but that gives Scream 7 ample time to earn big during this relatively quiet period at the box office.
3. The Bride!
Warner Bros. | NEW
Opening Weekend Range: $10M – $15M
Showtime Marketshare: 11%
Pros
- Warner Bros. is sending off The Bride!, a 1930’s-set take on the Mary Shelley Frankenstein myth starring Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley which has been praised as a “big swing” coming out of the premiere in London. Jake Gyllenhaal and Penélope Cruz add star wattage. Currently tracking in the low-teens, our prediction panel does not think this bride will make much of a splash on her big day. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal takes the writing and directing reigns after her well-reviewed but low-grossing indie The Lost Daughter, which made under a million in 2021. Even if it does not perform theatrically, this is the type of eccentric genre fare that eventually catches on downstream should a cult form around it. Warner Bros. may be playing the long game here.
Cons
- While it may be another “big swing” for Warner Bros. ala Wuthering Heights, One Battle After Another, and Sinners, The Bride! might just be too niche for its own good. The period flavor combined with punk rock aesthetics might appeal to a specific kind of Hot Topic-type audience, but it may be too quirky for its own good in terms of genre appeal, especially with Scream 7 delivering the status quo goods across the multiplex. Recent theatrical updates on the literary monster like Lisa Frankenstein ($9.77M domestic), Victor Frankenstein ($5.77M domestic), and I, Frankenstein ($19M domestic) have all tanked, although Yorgos Lanthimos’ Frankenstein-ian original Poor Things managed $111.8M WW.
Share this post