After pulling off an improbable holiday win at thebox office, theWar Roomfaces some stiff competition this weekend, going up against a pair of thrillers,The VisitandThe Perfect Guy, and yet another faith-based film, 90 Minutes in Heaven. Now that the summer movie season is over, the box office receipts have already started to dwindle, which was part of the reasonWar Roomwas able to take the top spot over Labor Day. Don’t expect this trio of new releases to put up big numbers, but, according to the projections at BoxOffice.com,War Room’s reign atop the box office should be a short one.
The Visitis expected to take in $17 million at the box office, which should easily give it the top spot overThe Perfect Guy, which is expected to earn $13 million in its opening frame.War Roomis expected to drop to third place this weekend, but this film has already proven to be tough to predict, over-performing from its projections in its first two weeks. Distributor TriStar expanded the religious film’s release by 391 theaters last weekend, for a total theater count of 1,526. Given it’s surprising victory last weekend, it wouldn’t be surprising if another expansion is ordered, perhaps putting it in over 2,000 theaters, which could make it even more competitive, if the numbers hold up.
It will be interesting to see how fans react toThe Visit, which marks directorM. Night Shyamalan’s return to the big screen, and his low-budget roots, after a string of high-profile failures such asThe Happening,The Last AirbenderandAfter Earth. Conversely,The Perfect Guyis directed byDavid M. Rosenthal, a filmmaker who is directing his first major studio release, after making indie’s such as Falling Up,Janie JonesandA Single Shot. Both movies are thrillers, although both of these stories are vastly different.The Visitfollows two young siblings visiting their grandparents for the first time, although something doesn’t seem right about this elderly couple.The Perfect Guyfollows a woman who gets involved in a steamy affair with a man who turns out to be quite dangerous.
The Visitis expected to debut in more than 2,800 theaters nationwide this weekend, withThe Perfect Guyslated to roll out in more than 2,000 theaters. As far as the other new release is concerned, 90 Minutes in Heaven, it is expected to open wide, but an estimated theater count was not given. We’re not sure if 90 Minutes in Heaven will be as successful asWar Room, but that film’s success has proven that box office analysts shouldn’t take this genre lightly. With all of that being said, we’re predicting 90 Minutes in Heaven will debut in fourth place with $8.2 million, just behindWar Room’s $8.5 million, withStraight Outta Comptondropping to fifth place with $6.4 million.
The bottom half of the top 10 provided two surprises this past weekend, with Disney Pixar’sInside Outreturning to theaters in wide release, and the little-known Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos both cracking the top 10 during theholiday weekend. SinceInside Out’s return was for one weekend only, with the Blu-ray and DVD debuting in November, it will likely fall out of the top 10 this weekend, but that may not be the case with Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos. The Spanish-languageanimated movieonly screened in 395 theaters, but it’s impressive $11,190 per-screen average was the highest of any movie in the top 10 this weekend, so don’t be surprised if its distributor, Pantelion, expands into many more theaters this weekend.
Rounding out the top 10 this weekend will beA Walk in the Woods($5.8 million),Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation($5.4 million),The Transporter Refueled($4.1 million), Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos ($3.9 million) andNo Escape(3.3 million). A second straight ninth-place finish may be a conservative estimate for Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos, but we’re not quite sure yet if the movie will expand, and, if so, by how much. After six straight weeks in the top 5,Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation’s run has ended, but it should still hang around in the top 10 for at least a few more weeks, most likely hitting the $200 million mark domestically before it exits from theaters.
Opening in limited release this weekend areSleeping with Other People, starringJason Sudeikis,Alison BrieandAdam Scott,Time Out of MindstarringJena MaloneandRichard Gereand Wolf Totem. A number of foreign films are also debuting in limited release, such as the critically-acclaimed Goodnight Mommy, Coming Home, starringLi Gongand Breathe, along with the documentary Paul Taylor Creative Domain. Wolf Totem is getting the “widest” release of these indies, debuting in over 100 theaters, withSleeping with Other Peopledebuting in five theaters andTime Out of Mindarriving in just two theaters.
Next week will bring three new movies in wide release, Warner Bros.' crime dramaBlack Mass, Paramount’s thrillerCaptiveand 20th Century Fox’sThe Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. There are also a slew of notable films arriving in limited release, such asEverest, which debuts only in IMAX theaters next weekend before expanding nationwide on September 25, Lionsgate’sSicario, which will also expand to a nationwide release on the 25th, Bleecker Street’sPawn Sacrifice, The Weinstein Company’sAbout Rayand Cinedigm’s War Pigs. While we wait for the box office estimates on Sunday, check out our predictions for this weekend’s top 10 below.
