Will “It” kill “mother!” or will “American Assassin” take them both out?
Whether the head-to-head horror flicks take top honors or the spy thriller infiltrates moviegoers’ pocketbooks is largely
irrelevant: the box office is expected to see its second straight robust weekend.
“In our opinion, this weekend's Top 10 films could gross $91 million, which would drive revenue up 28 percent (year to year),”
MKM Managing Director Eric Handler said in a note.
The two good weekends come after a historically bad summer. But September was kick-started by “It,” the movie about a
kid-killing clown that took in $123 million last weekend for Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX). That’s more than the full four-day take during the Labor Day frame.
Related Link: Audiences Eat
'It' Up, Go Crazy For Killer Clown
Fear And Loving
Horror fans who haven’t seen “It” will have to decide between it and director Darren Aronofsky’s eerie “mother!,” which stars
box-office magnet Jennifer Lawrence, along with Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Harris.
Handler thinks “It” will keep its clown-fingered clutches on the top spot, dropping 60 percent but still pulling in $50
million.
The grammar-challenged “mother!” will vie for second with self-descriptive “American Assassin,” a Lions Gate
Entertainment Corp. (USA) (NYSE: LGF)/CBS
Corporation (NYSE: CBS) production that stars Michael
Keaton.
The Reese Witherspoon rom-com “Home Again” should snag fourth, with holdover “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” rounding out the top
five.
“Horror is the least scary genre when it comes to profitability and has almost no peer when it comes to the cost/benefit
analysis,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore, Inc.
Box Office Seriously Backloaded
Quarter to date is down 18.4 percent through Sept. 13, but the weekend after this one sees seemingly surefire sequels “Kingsman:
The Golden Circle” by Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ: FOXA) and Warner’s “The Lego NinJago Movie.”
Other potential blockbusters this year include Warner’s “Justice League,” and "Blade Runner 2049" and the Walt Disney
Co (NYSE: DIS) titans “Thor: Ragnarok,” “Star Wars:
The Last Jedi,” and “Coco,” a Pixar flick.
Even Exhibitor Execs Upping Investments
Handler said it's a good sign that exhibitor execs are buying their own stock, namely:
- CEO Adam Aron adding to his position this week with 35,000 shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (NYSE:
AMC) at $15.79 a share. Handler rated AMC a Buy with a $28
price target.
- CEO Mark Zoradi last week bought 5,000 shares at $32.19 in Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK) Handler rated it a Buy with a $46 price target.
- CFO David Ownby purchased 7,500 at $14.04 last month in Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC). Handler rated it a Buy with a $20 price target.
Related Link:
AMC Tanks To Record Lows In Midst Of Box Office Slump
Image credit: mother! - official trailer - paramount
pictures
Latest Ratings for TWX
Date |
Firm |
Action |
From |
To |
Aug 2017 |
Evercore ISI Group |
Downgrades |
|
In-Line |
Aug 2017 |
Jefferies |
Downgrades |
Buy |
Hold |
Apr 2017 |
Pivotal Research |
Downgrades |
|
Hold |
View More Analyst Ratings for
TWX
View the Latest Analyst Ratings
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