Sadly, Sensei's call streak ended last week at 14 weeks. A nice run
over the holidays. This time around, we have soldiers, gangsters and
even some comedic ghosts?
Sensei's weekend predictions and revenue results go as follows:
1. "Zero Dark Thirty" ($25 million) -
Film will do very well, especially after its recent Oscar nominations.
In an interesting note, "Zero" has made about as much in total box
office ($4.9 million) as "Promised Land" ($5 million) showing in only 60 theaters. "Promised Land," in comparison, is playing in well over 1,600 theaters. And they wonder why I hate political films like
"Promised" so much at the box office?
2. "A Haunted House" ($19 million) - Perfectly timed film here. As a clever comedy, film provides perfect box office variety to horror film "Texas Chainsaw 3D" and "Zero Dark Thirty's" serious narrative.
3. "Gangster Squad" ($17 million) -
I love old school gangster epics and love the premise for this
film. Unfortunately, the film's cast has had some pretty significant box
office duds: Josh Brolin ("Jonah Hex," "W."), Sean Penn ("Fair Game") and Ryan Gosling ("Ides Of March"). The film's female lead, Emma Stone,
doesn't have that much better box office clout, either. Hence, why this
film is opening in January as opposed to more lucrative frames in either
the Summer or Fall. Look for this film to underwhelm, despite the fun
premise.
4. "Django Unchained" ($12 million) - Westerns
have shown to have great staying power during this time of year ("True
Grit" also did very well along the same timeline in 2010). Even an epic
western, Quentin Tarantino style, can do solid business. A few Oscar
nominations also helps.
5. "Les Miserables" ($10.2 million) - Well
over the $100 million domestic mark at this point, this musical
adaptation continues to be one of the strongest entries at the box
office. Recent Oscar nominations help, but this film's solid appeal to
countless demographics is what really drives it. Expect a lot more solid
weekend grosses.
That's Sensei's calls.