(Updated) Theater Counts: Daddy’s Home and Orient Express Vie for Theater Space Between Thor and Justice League
November 9, 2017
Two new releases are fighting for some theater space between two giant releases this weekend. With Thor: Ragnarok holding on to the 4,080 theaters it opened in last weekend, and Justice League opening in approximately 4,000 theaters next weekend (per Warner Bros. announcement this evening), Daddy’s Home 2 and Murder on the Orient Express had some work to do to get a shot at good debuts. It looks as though they’ve pulled that off, mostly.
Daddy’s Home 2 will open in 3,575 locations for Paramount. That’s quite a bit more than the 3,271-theater opening of the original. That film topped $10,000 per theater after opening on Christmas Day in 2015, and had good legs through the holidays and into the New Year. The sequel looks like less of a sure bet, partly because of the decision to cast Mel Gibson. Although no-one could have known at the time that decision was made, stars with an unsavory past aren’t exactly flavor of the month right now. Even without that marketing challenge, the film is getting panned by critics, and seems unlikely to draw in many people who have read a review.
Murder on the Orient Express looks likely to have the better opening, comparatively speaking, and Fox have managed to get it into 3,341 theaters—pretty good for a film with somewhat niche appeal. It seems better placed for second place behind Thor right now.
One notable debutant in limited release is Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which will open in four carefully-chosen theaters. It should easily top the theater average chart for the week. The more interesting question is whether it can come close to Lady Bird’s best average for the year: $91,109 on average, also from four locations.
In spite of Justice League’s big moment next weekend, and its expected 4,000-theater-plus rollout, a couple of films are daring to go up against it. The Star will play in about 3,000 theaters for Sony, and Lionsgate will launch Wonder in the same number, according to their estimate. Also worth looking out for next weekend is the debut in four theaters of Roman J. Israel, Esq..
Theater Counts for Weekend of November 10-12
Estimates for Weekend of November 17
Movie Distributor Estimated
TheatersJustice League Warner Bros. 4,000 The Star Sony Pictures 3,000 Wonder Lionsgate 3,000 Mudbound Netflix 17 Roman J. Israel, Esq. Sony Pictures 4 Sweet Virginia IFC Films 1
Estimates for Weekend of November 24
Movie Distributor Estimated
TheatersEric Clapton: A Life in 12 Bars Abramorama 2
Filed under: Theater Counts, Mel Gibson