DreamWorks Animation and Universal's The Wild Robot kicked off its North American box office run with $1.95 million in Thursday previews, marking a solid start for a family-friendly animated film.
 |
| The Wild Robot Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Animation |
The movie is adapted from Peter Brown’s popular novel, which tells the story of a robot named ROZ who forms an unlikely connection with an orphaned gosling and other creatures after being stranded on a remote island.
The critically praised CGI-animated film is projected to open in the $24 million range domestically, although some more optimistic forecasters believe it could easily surpass $30 million.
However, it's understandable that the filmmakers are managing expectations, predicting over $20 million, especially after last weekend’s Transformers One—another animated PG-rated film—underperformed by $5 million, with a $24.6 million domestic debut.
The Wild Robot explores the intersection of nature and technology, directed and written by Oscar nominee Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods). The film boasts an impressive voice cast, including Lupita Nyong’o, Kit Connor, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, and Stephanie Hsu, alongside Mark Hamill, Matt Berry, and Ving Rhames.
The film is expected to top the weekend box office, ahead of holdovers Transformers One and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, as well as Francis Ford Coppola’s dystopian epic Megalopolis, which is tracking to open with $5 million to $7 million, potentially making it a financial failure given its $120 million production cost before marketing.
The film earned $770,000 in previews held on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
Despite Coppola's legendary status, no major Hollywood studio agreed to finance or distribute Megalopolis in North America after seeing it at an early buyer's screening ahead of its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received mostly lukewarm reviews. The film stars Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, and Shia LaBeouf in Coppola’s epic reimagining of the Roman Empire, set in modern-day New York City on the verge of collapse.
Lionsgate eventually stepped in to release the film domestically, though they are not responsible for distribution or marketing expenses. Imax is also supporting Coppola, as he used Imax-certified cameras for portions of the movie, with Megalopolis set to screen in about 200 Imax theaters, roughly half of Imax's large-format circuit, during select showings.
Earlier this week, Coppola compared the film’s plot to the current political climate in the U.S. during a screening of Megalopolis at the New York Film Festival, suggesting that the 2024 presidential election might parallel the fall of Rome. His comments were streamed to 65 cinemas across the U.S. and Canada with Imax’s support.
If Coppola is targeting the politics surrounding Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, audiences have the option of supporting Vindicating Trump, the latest documentary from conservative commentator and Trump supporter Dinesh D’Souza, which explores the challenges facing the GOP candidate in his effort to reclaim the presidency.
D’Souza’s documentary—created in collaboration with Trump, who has personally promoted the film—is expected to be shown in 500 to 700 theaters across the country. Faith-based distributor SDG, known for Am I Racist?, is handling the North American release of Vindicating Trump, which features a notable moment where D’Souza interviews Trump after a would-be assassin’s bullet grazed his ear.
In the specialty box office, Sony is releasing Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night—a tribute to the iconic NBC sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live—in four theaters across New York and Los Angeles.
0 Comments