Box Office: ‘Power Rangers’ Can’t Kill the ‘Beast’

Drew Dietsch
Movies Disney
Movies Disney

The box office was still looking rather beastly this weekend. Beauty and the Beast held onto the top spot with a take close to $90 million. As of now, it’s the highest-grossing film of the year. How high can it go? We’ll have to wait and see.

How did the newcomers fare? Power Rangers (my review) performed admirably and above most expectations. Audiences responded very positively to the film so it’s likely to have a strong holdover in its second weekend. Meanwhile, Life (my review) couldn’t quite break past Kong: Skull Island‘s third weekend showing. Life is a really good creature flick and you should see it if you can. Lastly, CHIPS (my review) faded into the background. It’s a shame since the movie is a pretty fun time but it just happened to come out at the wrong time and without a good marketing push behind it.

The Numbers Game

Each week, I will guess how much wide-release films will be making on their opening weekend. My estimates come from my heart and my gut. You’d think I’d use my brain, but that makes far too much sense.

Last Week:

Power Rangers
My Guess: $35,000,000
Actual: $40,500,000
Result: This one managed to overcome Beauty and the Beast‘s massive influence and get to a higher projected box office. Glad to see people enjoying it.

Life
My Guess: $10,000,000
Actual: $12,600,000
Result: Life did better than I expected, but this is still a bummer of an opening for such a solid movie.

CHIPS
My Guess: $8,000,000
Actual: $7,600,000
Result: Bad release window and bad marketing crushed this one. Hopefully, people will discover it on home video.

This week:

Ghost in the Shell

ghost in the shell scarlett johannson

This should be a slam dunk hit but there is a lot working against Ghost in the Shell‘s favor that has nothing to do with the movie’s potential quality. You’ve got the casting controversy, the seemingly impenetrable weirdness of the property, and strong holdovers with Beauty and the Beast and Power Rangers. Plus, the other wide release hitting this weekend is likely to overcome Ghost in the Shell simply because it’s getting released on more screens. Personally, I can’t wait for this movie and think everyone should check it out, but it’s looking like the odds are not in its favor. I hope I’m very, very wrong.

My guess: $30,000,000

The Boss Baby

boss baby

With a 500+ screen advantage over Ghost in the ShellThe Boss Baby is likely to be the better performing of the two releases. Marketing has really ramped up in this last week, and parents might be apt to take their kids to it as opposed to something a little darker than Beauty and the Beast. Reviews have been poor so far and that might end up having an effect on The Boss Baby, but movies like this are often immune to critical opinions.

My guess: $35,000,000

See you next week, box office buddies!

Source: Box Office Mojo

Drew Dietsch
Drew Dietsch has been professionally writing about entertainment for over a decade. His bylines include FANDOM - where he was a founding contributor and Entertainment Editor - Bloody Disgusting, SYFY WIRE, and more. He created and hosts GenreVision, a weekly film discussion show at genrevision.com.