After two weeks in a row of box office dominance,Thor: Ragnarokwill certainly not come out on top this weekend, with that honor almost certainly going to Warner Bros.Justice League. Unlike most Marvel movies, thisDCEU moviedoes have some competition in wide release, with the Lionsgate dramaWonder, starring Julia Roberts and Jacob Tremblay, and Sony’s animated biblical taleThe Star, although none of those movies will come anywhere close toJustice League. We’re predicting thatJustice Leaguecomes in just a bit over its latest box office projections, taking in $126.7 million.
In late October, the latestJustice League box office trackingput the superhero ensemble between $110 million and $120 million, an opening weekend which comes in below bothBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice($166 million) andSuicide Squad($133.6 million), but above the opening weekend ofWonder Woman($103.2 million). Ironically,Wonder Woman($412.5 million) ended up besting bothBatman v Superman($330.3 million) andSuicide Squad($325.1 million) at the domestic box office, since it suffered minimal drops from weekend to weekend throughout the summer, unlike bothBatman v SupermanandSuicide Squad.
TheWonder Womanmovie was also helped quite a bit by a glowing critical reception, with its 92% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes far exceeding the 27% ofBatman v Supermanand the 26% ofSuicide Squad. As for theJustice League reviews, they are still under embargo, which is slated to break late tonight. In an unusual move, though, Rotten Tomatoes is delaying the release of the TomatoMeter score for a full day, which will be revealed on their new show on Facebook called See It/Skip It. The move has raised some eyebrows although the first wave of reviews will be available for all to see on various websites tonight at 11:50 PM PT/2:50 AM ET. Still, it remains to be seen how much these reviews will impact the box office, since even the critical flopsBatman v SupermanandSuicide Squadfared quite well.
Justice Leagueis expected to debut in more than 4,000 theaters this weekend, with bothWonderandThe Starexpected to arrive in roughly 3,000 theaters. We’re projecting thattwo-time box office champ Thor: Ragnarokwill drop to second place this weekend with a decent $27.3 million, which, along with its weekday grosses could push it beyond the $250 million domestic plateau. Rounding out the top 5 will likely beDaddy’s Home 2with $15.8 million,Murder on the Orient Expresswith $13.6 million andWonderwith $8.9 million. We’re projecting the top 10 will be rounded out byA Bad Moms Christmas($7.2 million),The Star($6.2 million),Jigsaw($1.8 million),Boo 2! a Madea Halloween($1.2 million) andGeostorm($1 million). Also arriving in limited release is Sony’sRoman J. Israel, Esq., which will expand nationwide a few days later over Thanksgiving weekend, Gravitas Ventures’Almost Friends, Argot Pictures’Big Sonia, Vertical Entertainment’sRevoltand IFC’sSweet Virginia.
Looking ahead to next weekend,Disney Pixar’s Cocowill be the only movie arriving in wide release over the Thanksgiving holiday, debuting on Wednesday, November 22 alongside the expandingRoman J. Israel, Esq., although there are several others that will arrive in limited release. Debuting in limited release on November 22 is Bleecker Street’sThe Man Who Invented Christmasand Focus Features’Darkest Hour, and on Friday, November 24, Zeitgeist’s documentaryBombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, Sony Pictures Classics’Call Me by Your Name, Abramorama’s documentaryEric Clapton: A Live in 12 Barsand Cohen Media Group’sLa Belle Noiseusewill all arrive. Take a look at our projected top 10 for the weekend of November 17, and check back on Sunday for the box office estimates fromBox Office Mojo.
