Yahoo Movies Box Office: Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Rampage’ to Battle Horror Titles
Box office king Dwayne Johnson is ready to reclaim his crown.
Johnson, whose “Jumanji” just became Sony Picture’s highest grossing movie of all time, is swinging back into theaters with “Rampage.” The New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. pic, which reportedly cost $120 million to make, is estimating a debut between $37 million to $40 million from 3,950 theaters. Though that would be enough to secure the top spot from “A Quiet Place,” it’ll still need a boost from overseas to make the pricey film profitable.
Loosely based on the video game, “Rampage” follows a primatologist (Johnson) who shares a bond with a silverback gorilla that turns the gentle ape into a giant and aggressive beast after a rogue genetic experiment that goes wrong. Naomie Harris, Malin Akerman, and Joe Manganiello round out the film, directed by Brad Peyton.
Still, positive word of mouth should drive Paramount Pictures’ “A Quiet Place” to another strong weekend. With an impressive $50 million opening, “A Quiet Place” scored the second best domestic debut of 2018 last weekend. This time around, the thriller starring John Krasinski and Emily Blunt should make around $28 million to $30 million.
Another horror film, Blumhouse’s “Truth or Dare” debuts fittingly on Friday the 13th. The Universal Pictures’ movie is tracking around $16 million from 3,000 locations. Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane, Hayden Szeto and Landon Liboiron are college kids on spring break in Mexico who indulge in a seemingly harmless game of truth or dare that turns deadly when someone begins to punish those who tell a lie or refuse a dare.
The third frame of “Ready Player One” and the sophomore outing of “Blockers” are eyeing similar results ranging from $12 million and $15 million. Last weekend, Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” made $25 million, bringing its domestic total to $98 million. Meanwhile, Universal’s raunchy R-rated comedy “Blockers” — directed by Kay Cannon and starring John Cena, Leslie Mann and Ike Barinholtz — debuted with $21.4 million.
After a strong limited run, Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs” gets a wide release in 1,750 locations. The stop-motion animated film has earned $12.3 million at the domestic box office so far, opening at the end of March with the best per screen average of 2018 to date.
The final release of the weekend is also canine-themed: “Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero” looks to make less than $5 million nationwide. Entertainment Studios’ animated film centers on the real-life Sergeant Stubby, a stray Boston Terrier who becomes a hero during World War I. Directed and co-written by Richard Lanni, “Sgt. Stubby” features the voices of Logan Lerman, Helena Bonham Carter and Gerard Depardieu.
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