Overall box office will be on par or a bit above last year...
Its' not looking so bright for the heavily-buzzed Star Trek into Darkness, as the J.J. Abrams sequel is doing way less than what analysts were expecting. The film is estimated to collect $22 million on Friday, after $13.4 million picked up on Wednesday evening/Thursday. Considering the expectations were to have it earn over $100 million for the four-day period, this performance is especially disappointing, especially considering Darkness fell short of its' predecessors' $27 million opening Friday. That movie would go on to gross $75 million for the weekend. If Darkness were to follow its' predecessors' 2.8 multiplier, it would wind up with only $61 million for the three-day weekend, and a four-day tally of roughly $75 million. Should it only earn that much, then might as well say don't get your hopes up for a third installment. Being sandwhiched between competition and heavy fan inflation in the films' supposedly high buzz probably is the reason why this isn't living up to expectations.
Even with the intense competition, Iron Man 3, which passed the $1 billion barrier yesterday, is holding extremely well. Off 52% to an estimated $9.5 million, the superhero threequel is on track for a third weekend of $34 million. The Great Gatsby was down 60% to an estimated $7.7 million, and will likely earn $22 million this weekend, down 55% from last weekend's strong debut.
Weekend estimates to be posted tomorrow afternoon....
