Theaters brace for slow movie weekend as they await 'Halloween'
October's first full weekend at the box office doesn't promise any relief from the big-grosses drought, though the rest of October may offer starved exhibitors a little pre-holiday nourishment.
Just two modest releases square off for the chance to knock off last week's horror hit Smile (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA).
One is the rare family film that could score. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (NYSE:SONY), starring singer Shawn Mendes in the title role, is a musical adaptation of the children's book, and Sony is projecting a modest $11M-$12M for the opening weekend, though industry watchers see a few more million on the top end.
The other is an all-star comedy/mystery from an acclaimed director. David O. Russell helms Amsterdam (NYSE:DIS), which numbers Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Taylor Swift, Rami Malek and Robert De Niro in its ensemble. The film struggled a bit in Thursday previews, though, with just $550,000, and so might be stretching to reach double digit millions.
More than this weekend, though, industry eyes turn to the next weekend, when Universal (CMCSA) brings out its seasonal franchise-ender (for now) Halloween Ends, starring Jamie Lee Curtis. The week after that, superhero (and box-office hero) Dwayne Johnson stars in DC's (WBD) latest, Black Adam.
Cinema tickers: AMC Entertainment (AMC); Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWQ); Cinemark (CNK); (IMAX); Marcus (MCS); Reading International (RDI); Cineplex (CGX:CA); National CineMedia (NCMI).