Weekend Estimates: Hotel Transylvania 2 Breaks September Record
September 27, 2015
Hotel Transylvania 2 is off to an impressive start this weekend with a new record weekend for September, according to Sony’s estimate released on Sunday. The animated comedy is expected to earn $47.5 million, beating the record held by the first film in the franchise, which debuted with $42.5 million this time in 2012. It’s also on the high end of expectations, which had it coming in the high 30s or low 40s. It’s a welcome turnaround for Adam Sandler, after a string of flops, but even more so for Sony Pictures, which has had a dismal year so far, with no film earning more than Pixels $76.7 million before now.
Also slightly over-performing this weekend is The Intern, which Warner Bros. pegs at $18.2 million for the weekend. That’s not going to be enough to ensure a substantial profit for the film, thanks to a comparatively high budget, reported at $40 million, although its older demographic appeal should give it better legs, and the film could play quite well internationally thanks to stars Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway.
Everest is something of a disappointment in its wide expansion, with Universal expecting a weekend of around $13.1 million, taking the film to $23.1 million after two weekends. The big-screen-first release strategy was worth a try, and the film is by no means a flop, but it does bring the studio back down to earth a bit in comparison to their almost unbroken string of massive hits this year.
Just on the edge of the top ten, The Green Inferno will open with approximately $3.5 million from 1,540 theaters for an average of $2,200. That’s an OK number, particularly for a horror movie debuting in late September from a new distributor, but the film will quickly move on to a more lucrative run on VoD.
In limited release, Sicario makes an appearance in the top 10 while playing in only 59 theaters, thanks to earning an average of $30,000 in each one. It will earn around $1.77 million for the weekend, after picking up almost $600,000 in its first week from just six locations. Its opening makes it another awards hopeful to watch, alongside Black Mass, which is having a less promising second weekend, down 49% to $11.5 million for $42.6 million to date.
Chinese comedy Lost in Hong Kong, sequel to the massive hit Lost in Thailand, starts out with a very impressive $558,900 from 27 venues, for an average north of $20,000. Also looking great in limited debut is 99 Homes, the latest from Broad Green Pictures. It starts out with $32,807 projected from two theaters.
- Weekend estimates
Bruce Nash, bruce.nash@the-numbers.com
- Biggest September weekends at the box office
- Hotel Transylvania 2 comps
- The Intern comps
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Pixels, Hotel Transylvania 2, The Green Inferno, Everest, The Intern, Black Mass, 99 Homes, Sicario, Gang jiong, Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, Adam Sandler