Weekend Box Office Predictions for April 1-3, 2016

Here are the predictions for this weekend. With this same weekend last year being Easter, this year will obviously fall way short of last.

#1: Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice ($61 million, -63%)
#2: Zootopia ($15.5 million, -36%)
#3: God's Not Dead 2 ($12 million)
#4: My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 ($10.5 million, -41%)

#5: Miracles from Heaven ($6 million, -38%)
#6: The Divergent Series: Allegiant ($5 million, -47%)

#7: 10 Cloverfield Lane ($3 million, -49%)
      Deadpool ($3 million, -39%)
      Eye in the Sky ($3 million, expanding)
#10: Meet the Blacks ($2.5 million)

God's Not Dead 2 is coming in at the tail-end at what has been a big slate of faith-based movies. And buzz and tracking have been very strong for the sequel heading into the weekend (especially for the faith-based genre). However, one has to wonder if several within six weeks are cannibalizing each other's business (Miracles from Heaven has outperformed expectations, while Risen has done OK and The Young Messiah flopped). In this case, God's Not Dead 2 could underperform. But, there's apparently high awareness for this flick, so look for very solid numbers here (at least ahead of the first film, which earned $9 million on its debut two years ago).

Meet the Blacks is opening in 1,000 locations, and might do decently. But buzz has been weak for the limited release which has been under just about everyone's radar.

The big question here is how Batman v. Superman will hold this weekend. It has mixed buzz and negative reviews, but Fandango is reporting strong ticket sales this weekend, and the lack of any new major studio fare should help too. Furious 7 fell 60% in its second weekend, while Man of Steel was down 65%. I'm going to shoot for right in the middle. At the same time, the worldwide box office should come close to $700 million this weekend.

Zootopia will continue to be the go-to option for families, though the end of Spring Break may or may not result in a strong hold. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 will hold OK also thanks to no competition for its audience. Miracles from Heaven will have God's Not Dead 2 to deal with this weekend, so the jury is out right now on how that film will hold this weekend.

Allegiant and 10 Cloverfield Lane will continue to fall fast, while Deadpool will hang in there in its eighth weekend of release. Finally, one of Alan Rickman's final roles, Eye in the Sky, is expanding to 1,000 locations, and should pick up some steam.