Overall business should easily rocket ahead of this same weekend from last year, which was led by the one-two moderate punch of sequels to The Equalizer and Mamma Mia.
Here's the predicted Top 10:
#1: The Lion King ($170 million)
The third of Disney's live-action remakes this year arrives this weekend, and is tracking for a massive opening, with one caveat. As of now, critical reception is down-the-middle (however, the same happened for Aladdin and that movie over-performed). However, the massive popularity of the original film plus strong buzz and pre-sales looks to power the film to an opening around the same as 2017's Beauty and the Beast remake ($177 million). Overseas numbers should be even stronger (its' already earned $80 million in China).
#2: Spider-Man: Far From Home ($22.5 million, -51%)
Competition for older kids from The Lion King will probably cause another steep drop for this superhero sequel. However, it should stabilize next week.
#3: Toy Story 4 ($12 million, -43%)
This Disney sequel will probably drop a little heavier than last week due to the added competition, and will probably be kept under 50% due to double-features with Lion King.
#4: Crawl ($6.5 million, -46%)
This survival horror thriller is pulling in solid word-of-mouth, but a big movie like this weekend's new opener will probably suck air out of the marketplace, including this title.
#5 (tie): Yesterday ($4 million, -40%)
Older audiences not interested in Lion King should continue to fuel this biopic musical.
#5 (tie): Stuber ($4 million, -51%)
Nonexistent word-of-mouth or buzz will lead to a fast fade for this R-rated comedy disappointment.
#7: Aladdin ($3.5 million, -44%)
Of course, with another remake in theaters, that's not going to leave much room for Aladdin. But, audiences could be in the mood for a remake double-feature, which may keep the drop below 50%.
#8: Annabelle Comes Home ($3 million, -47%)
After a decent hold last week, Annabelle should continue leveling off at a decent rate from here.
#9: Midsommar ($2 million, -46%)
Benefiting from strong reviews and word-of-mouth, this indie horror flick should also continue holding decently.
#10: The Secret Life of Pets 2 ($1.5 million, -51%)
Rounding out the list by default, this sequel will likely get hammered by Lion King this weekend as it starts to make its way towards its August 27th Blu-ray release date.
