Overall business looks like its going to get a major perk-up this weekend, thanks to four wide releases all hoping to pull in a different sector of the moviegoing audience. The best news is that overall business looks to jump ahead of this same weekend last year, which featured the debuts of Fifty Shades Freed ($38 million), Peter Rabbit ($25 million), and The 15:17 to Paris ($12.5 million).
Here is the predicted Top 10:
#1: The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part ($52 million)
It's the first major animated movie of 2019, and word-of-mouth is apparently pretty good. Warner Bros. gave sneak peeks of this one last week, as they hope Second Part will repeat the success of the first LEGO Movie ($260 million), which opened to nearly $70 million on this same weekend five years ago. However, previous LEGO spin-offs weren't quite as successful. The LEGO Batman Movie was a success, though it earned $80 million less, while The LEGO Ninjago Movie was a box office bomb at just $60 million stateside. Overall buzz for this one has been strong, though not quite as strong as its predecessor. And families have had some films to choose from over the past two months. I'm expecting a debut here closer to LEGO Batman ($53 million).
#2: What Men Want ($22 million)
For couples and adults, this gender-reversed remake of the Mel Gibson-Helen Hunt original looks to pull in a strong crowd. The R rating will probably keep it from breaking out, but overall buzz and awareness is pretty strong. I definitely think it will hit the low-20's, with some strong added business over Valentine's Day.
#3: Cold Pursuit ($11 million)
Liam Neeson has remained fairly consistent lately with action films, as adrenaline-driven males will look to flock to his latest. Like What Men Want, this film does have an R rating so its' breakout potential will be fairly limited. Overall buzz has been fairly limited as well. I would expect a low-teens debut, perhaps a little less than last year's The Commuter ($13 million).
#4: The Prodigy ($8 million)
Hoping to pull in horror crowds, Prodigy hasn't exactly brought in strong anticipation or awareness. That being said, there hasn't been any real true horror flicks in awhile (Escape Room aside, and that was more of a PG-13 thriller based on what I heard). It could do decent business, but I wouldn't be surprised if my prediction was a bit too optimistic.
#5: The Upside ($5.5 million, -38%)
Out of all holdovers, this one looks to lead the pack. A lack of any real options for older adults will keep this in the conversation for a little while.
#6: Glass ($5 million, -47%)
M. Night Shyalaman's latest doesn't look like it's going to find any legs thanks to mixed word-of-mouth.
#7: Miss Bala ($3.5 million, -48%)
Added competition for females from What Men Want won't help matters for this Super Bowl weekend disappointment.
#8 (tie): Aquaman ($3 million, -36%)
Starting to fade away, Aquaman should quietly continue to pull in a small chunk of business over the next couple weeks.
#8 (tie): Green Book ($3 million, -30%)
Thanks to Oscar buzz, this historical drama will probably have the strongest hold of all holdovers this weekend.
#10: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse ($2.5 million, -43%)
With The LEGO Movie 2 enticing kids and families, Into the Spider-Verse will probably have one of the harder drops this weekend.
