Last weekend, Sonic the Hedgehog sped into theaters and set a new record for video game movies with a $70 million haul over the four-day holiday. It benefited greatly from the Valentine’s Day and President’s Day moviegoing crowds. But will the Sega icon be able to hold onto the top spot at the box office heading into this weekend? This Friday sees a pair of newcomers in the form of 20th Century Studios’ The Call of the Wild and STX Films’ Brahms: The Boy 2.
Sonic the Hedgehog appears to have a clear path to repeat atop the box office. The Jeff Fowler-directed movie looks to take in between $25 and $30 million in its second frame. Its Friday to Sunday total was $58 million last weekend, which means it should hold relatively well. Led by a cast that includes James Marsden, Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, it currently holds a 65 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but maintains a stellar 95 percent audience rating.
It is, in all likelihood, going to be a different story for The Call of the Wild. The adaptation of Jack London’s beloved novel stars Harrison Ford and is directed by Chris Sanders. Critics have been relatively kind to it thus far, sitting at 72 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, it’s expected to bring in around $18 million at the top end of industry estimates. That would be all good and well in many cases, but the movie comes with a hefty $125 million price tag, with an expensive CGI dog at the center of the action. With that, this looks to be another bomb Disney inherited from Fox in the merger last year.
Coming in at number three should be Birds of Prey. The latest DC Comics adaptation hasn’t performed quite as well as Warner Bros. had hoped in its first two weeks, earning $147.1 million worldwide so far. It should collect between $8 and $10 million in its third weekend. Ultimately, Margot Robbie’s return as Harley Quinn is shaping up to be above a disaster but below a hit. What that means for the future of the character remains to be seen, especially considering critics and audiences generally seem to like director Cathy Yan’s DCEU entry.
The four and five spot will likely go to Bad Boys for Life and Brahms: The Boy 2. I’m giving the edge to Bad Boys for LIfe, as Sony’s long-awaited sequel has performed incredibly well up to this point, having already earned $371.9 million worldwide, dropping just four percent last weekend. Brahms: The Boy II, serves as a sequel to 2016’s The Boy and stars Katie Holmes. The Horror flick is tracking for an opening between $5 and $8 million. Be sure to check out our full list of weekend box office predictions below and check back with us on Sunday for the weekend estimates. Numbers used in this report were provided by Box Office Mojo.
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- The Call of the Wild
- Birds of Prey
- Bad Boys for Life
- Brahms: The Boy II
- Photograph
- 1917
- Fantasy Island
- Parasite
- Jumanji: The Next Level
