By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com
Weekend Estimates by Klady Strange
Doctor Strange has the best November opening of any original/first-of-a-franchise aside from the first Harry Potter. It’s only the second Marvel opening in November and is almost identical to the Thor 2‘s opening. It’s also Marvel’s biggest “second shelf” launch. Trolls is a strong Dreamworks Animation opening, almost double Rise of the Guardians, their last November launch. And ironically, one of the last Fox DWA launches is their strongest. Hacksaw Ridge gets a solid start, but not overwhelming. Wouldn’t be surprised to see this one hold strong after the election.
My goodness, that MOONLIGHT estimate seems high, but even if it is by a hair…stunning. Hits $3 million about 22 days faster than ROOM, last October’s A24 prestige comp. It’s also blowing away THE DANISH GIRL and CAROL in recent LGBT comps. Still no idea where this ends up…if I was A24 I would worry about it peaking too soon at this point.
No takers on this last week, but does Tyler Perry have a legit gripe on BOO here? Aside from THE IMITATION GAME, which had a bizarre awards-centric release pattern, it will be the highest grossing movie not to hit 2,500 theatres in four and a half years.
That same “peaking too soon” thing happened w/ “Precious” in 2009, Ethan, so there’s definitely a precedent.