Notable Openings This Weekend: Blended, X-Men: Days of Future Past
I hate breaking down weekends like this, because it’s not a typical movie weekend breakdown. I have to account for an extra day! It’s just like when The Smurfs 2 opened on a Wednesday. How am I supposed to make an accurate prediction when your film opens on a Wednesday? But enough about Smurfs, because I’m happy to analyze the extra day this time around for one reason, and one reason only – X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. It’s here. As someone who’s been a massive fan of this franchise ever since I saw the original back in 2000, I always get goosebumps before a new one. How will it perform on one of the busiest box office weekends of the year? Let’s find out.
While a titan back in the early to mid 2000’s, the X-Men franchise has definitely faltered in recent years. Everyone hates X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) with a burning passion, and as a result, the series has lost a lot of moviegoers. Despite X-Men: First Class being a well-received film in 2011, it only opened to around $55 million. I thought the low opening was mainly due to no Wolverine, despite a quick cameo. When The Wolverine came out last year, I thought it was poised to bring in the big bucks once again, but it opened even lower to about $53 million. In superhero movie terms, these are subpar numbers. So why is X-Men: Days of Future Past going to be any different?
Call me an X-Men sap, but this movie is going to absolutely clean up, and double what those previous films made. Obviously an extra day to tally up the box office helps, but the melding of both the original and First Class casts is just too big to ignore. Hugh Jackman. Michael Fassbender. Patrick Stewart. James McAvoy. Ian McKellen. Halle Berry. Peter Dinklage. Ellen Page. And oh yeah, I haven’t even mentioned Jennifer Lawrence yet. That is impossible to not pay attention too, and as such, the film has garnered a lot of attention. Add that in to the absolutely ridiculous buzz and positivity in terms of reviews and reactions, it just adds more fuel to the fire. I’m confident this is the one X-Men prediction I won’t be wrong about.
Oh, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore have a movie coming out too. Hooray for counter programming. I was a huge Adam Sandler fan back in the nineties just like everybody else. While I don’t have the absolute hate and vitriol that a lot of people do for his recent films, they certainly aren’t very good. Blended will bring in its audience, and do just fine.
How Will It All Break Down…
It’s going to be a mega box office weekend all around. There’s certainly plenty to see, but it’s all about X-Men: Days of Future Past. After Monday, the X-Men franchise will be a force to be reckoned with once again.
TOP 5 MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND BOX OFFICE PREDICTIONS
1) X-Men: Days of Future Past — $113 Million
2) Godzilla — $49.5 Million
3) Blended — $29.5 Million
4) Neighbors — $20 Million
5) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 — $8.5 Million
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Review: X-Men First Class (Daniel Cohen)
