Andrew Stanton's pricey sci-fi epic has picked up in tracking and could cross $30 million; Eddie Murphy comedy "A Thousand Words" eyes muted bow.
Andrew Stanton'sJohn Carter could now open north of $30 million at the domestic box office this weekend, but that's
likely not enough to put Disney's $250 million-plus sci-fi epic on solid ground financially. Nor may it be enough to wrest
the weekend crown from holdover Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, which opened to a stellar $70.2 million last weekend. The Universal
and Illumination Entertainment film is expected to gross $35 million to $40 million in its second outing, putting its
domestic cume north of $100 million in just 10 days.
The other big question mark is John Carter's international potential. Often, a 3D Hollywood tentpole that underperforms
domestically can make up ground overseas. John Carter -- headlining Taylor Kitsch as a Civil War hero transported to Mars
-- opens this weekend in virtually every foreign territory save China and Japan. It bows next week in China and in Japan
on April 13.
John Carter needs to do substantial business worldwide to make up for its $250 million-plus budget.
The movie will play in select midnight runs Thursday before upping its North American theater count Friday to north of
3,500, including 290 Imax screens. Fanboys are huge fans of Imax, so John Carter should do especially well in those
locations.
According to tracking, older males are by far the most interested in seeing John Carter, which marks Stanton's live-action
directorial debut after turning out Pixar hits including Finding Nemo and WALL-E. Younger men are the second-most
interested demo, followed by younger females and older females.
Tracking has improved slightly across all demos on the eve of the film's release, but box-office observers still believe
the film will have a hard time opening much north of $30 million.
