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“Dear Evan Hansen,” the big-screen adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical, hits theaters this weekend. Will he find himself at the top of the box office charts?
The Universal movie, which sees Ben Platt reprise his role as Tony, is expected to debut at around $ 10 million in 3,300 North American theaters. It’s the only new movie to open nationwide this weekend. Box office tracking, even in pre-pandemic times, can be unreliable, and musicals have proven to have a mixed track record in theaters, so industry experts have indicated that a debut in the high numbers would not be unexpected.
Opening weekend loot under $ 10 million isn’t ideal for a major studio release. However, “Dear Evan Hansen” has a modest production budget of $ 28 million, which means it doesn’t have to sell that many tickets to generate a profit. That’s good news, as the film has been skewered by critics (it has 43% on Rotten Tomatoes), many of whom have criticized the plot and the decision to make Platt, 27, a high school teenager.
The reception of the film is very different from the applause that greeted the stage version of the story, about an anxious and isolated teenager who finds himself entangled in a lie that is out of his control. “Dear Evan Hansen” became Broadway’s toast when it opened in 2016, earning six of the nine Tony Award nominations it received.
Stephen Chbosky, whose credits “Wonder,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Rent,” make him an expert in musical-based, teen-centric films, directed the film. Despite the polarized response, “Dear Evan Hansen” has a prominent pedigree, with a cast that includes Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever and Amandla Stenberg.
There is a chance that audiences will reject “Dear Evan Hansen,” in which case Disney’s superhero adventure “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” will retain top spot at the domestic box office for the fourth. consecutive weekend.
The Marvel comic book adaptation, starring Simu Liu and Awkwafina, has been a reliable draw in recent weeks and has easily dominated the competition for the past three weekends in a row. If “Shang-Chi” were to experience a drop comparable to that of the last few weeks, it would have to collect an additional 10 to 12 million dollars between Friday and Sunday.
So far, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” has generated $ 178 million in North America. After this weekend, he’s looking to dethrone “Black Widow” and its $ 182 million in domestic ticket sales as the highest grossing film of the year.
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